My Countdown Starts Now
by PDOTL
Summary: AU.Back after six years, Lee, Naruto and Shikamaru come to Konoha High slightly changed and with a secret that's getting harder to keep. The secret being... well, let's just say they're in a band... ShikaNaru, future NejiLee and others...
1. One

My Countdown Starts Now

xxxxxx

"Class, we have a new student joining us," Kurenai-sensei said with a smile on her young face. Her piercing crimson eyes shifted from her class to the young man next to her. Her smile softened to a reassuring type and patted his shoulder friendily. "Please, introduce yourself." The dark-haired teen nodded enthusiastically and grinned at the staring class.

"I'm Rock Lee. Nice to meet you!" He let them glimpse at his pearly whites for just second before glamcing at Kurenai expectantly. "Ok, well, there's been a desk prepared for you behind Tenten. Tenten, raise your hand," Kurenai ordered and a brunette bun-head raised her hand, grinning slightly at the boy. Lee returned the gesture and walked over to his seat without a word. Kurenai immediately dove right into the Literature lesson.

"Hey, Lee, good to have you back. You sure have changed," Tenten whispered as she tipped her seat back slightly.

Lee sure did change over the six years years since he'd left the Konoha public educational system. At sixteen, Lee wasn't as tall as he'd appeared in fourth grade when everyone hadn't grown to ther highest potential. He was now more of an average height, taller than the girls, but shorter than most boys his age. His hairstyle had evolved from the boring bowl cut to a more raggled look. His hair just touched the back of his neck in jagged locks, long bangs covered his eyes if he tilted his head down and two locks of hair, longer than the rest, framed his round face nicely.

He still wore his trademark green, but in the form of a slightly loose fitting t-shirt over a snug, long-sleeved fish net shirt. Today he wore snug-fitting black jeans with a black leather belt. He wore three rubber bracelets; one, livestrong and rock the arts. Around his neck he wore a black link necklace.

Besides that he still had those big round dark eyes, long lush eyelashes, and, ahem, slightly big eyebrows. Though his eyebrows now looked a bit slimmer, and at least exceptable.

Lee smiled and flushed a bit. "Yeah, alot's happened over the years." If Tenten had been looking she would of seen the glint in Lee's eye when he'd said that. She didn't, but Neji did. He turned back to the front with a thoughtful frown on his lips, the rest of his face perfectly stoic.

x

At the end of class Lee stood up and gathered his books and slipped them into his bookbag. "Ne, Tenten, do you mind showing me to my next class?" Lee asked rather shyly, well, shy for Rock Lee. Tenten grinned and bobbed her head twice. "Sure, its no problem. We have all the same core subjects and maybe even a few extras." Lee blinked and shouldered his pack. "How do you know that?" Tenten smirked smuggly and Neji rolled his eyes knowingly as he followed the two out the door. 'Teacher-mode...'

"You see, Lee-kun, each grade level is split into two groupings, depending on your average grade score. The one we're in is the higher scoring one, so our core subject are all the same. It seems that the office was pretty lazy, since it's probably the simplest method. Though, if they were a little more..." Tenten seemed to struggle for the word, her eye twitched. "Not lazy?" Neji offered, smirking when she gave him an annoyed glare.

"It might help us students learn better," Tenten finished. Lee nodded, and they entered a classroom set up like a lab. "Science with Jiraiya-sensei," Tenten told Lee as they sat next to each other. Neji sat behind them and grunted. "The pervert..."

Tenten looked back at him and Lee looked a bit confuzzled. Tenten rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest unconsciously. "He's the school's resident pervert, and he doesn't even try to hide it. You should of seen him last year when we had the 'reproduction' unit." Tenten flinched slightly, but continued. "He's always getting beat up by Principal Tsunade, but rumor has it that they're secretly in love or something. Ever since they were in school together." Lee smiled softly as he brought out his notebook.

"Alright class! Work on the problems 1-19 on page 121. I'll be at my desk, don't bother me," Jiraiya said as he burst in the door. Lee blinked blankly as everyone started automatically and Jiraiya brought out a bright orange book from his top drawer with a gleeful giggle. "Uh..." Tenten shook her head.

"I forgot, he likes to read porn while we work, there's an other rumor that says he actually writes his own series of porn novels. Most of the senior guys have them and likes to have him sign them. Let me tell you, _senior-boys-favorite-teacher_. He snarls if any kid tries to ask him anything while he's reading. Don't worry, I'll help you get up to date on this." Lee gave her a grateful smile and they started.

xx

"So where is our sensei for this class?" Lee asked as kids all around them were gossipping, not even bringing out their books. Tenten looked bored as she inspected her nails. "This is History with Kakashi-sensei. He's always late, and most of the time the school nurse, Shizune, brings him in by the ear, scolding him." She laughed slightly and gave Lee an amused smile.

"Of course, he just ignores her and reads his book like nothing is happening. He reads porn too, he's a huge fan of Jiraiya's, especially." And as if on cue, right as Tenten finished her explanation, a dark-haired woman in a white nurse's outfit pushed opened the door with a bang pulling a silver haired man by the ear and yelling things at top speed. She let go of him in front of his desk and waved cheerfully at the students before leaving.

The man silently got up and sat on his desk. Lee looked sceptically at the man with three quarters of his face covered, then glanced at Tenten. She smirked. "Don't ask, i have no answer." "Class," Kakashi finally piped up. "Chapter five, lesson three. All the questions for homework." Then he went back to his silent mode and turned a page.

"And he doesn't teach, just tells us to read." Tenten scowled at Kakashi and he turned an other page, louder. "He's worst than Jiraiya-sensei," Tenten said a little louder and turned a page in her text book louder than Kakashi had. Kakashi briefly glanced up and Lee thought he saw a small smile in his eye. Yes, eye...

xxxx

"So, what's the story with this guy?" Lee whispered to Tenten, who was sitting to his right, Neji to his left. "Asuma-sensei, Math teacher. Well, besides being a chain smoker, there's a rumor that him and Kurenai-sensei are going out." "Ahem." Both teens slowly looked up and saw a slightly annoyed, slightly bored Asuma looking down at them with a cig hanging dangerously from his lip.

"I see you're giving the new student all the school gossip now, huh, Tenten?" Tenten nodded bavely and didn't even look embarassed. "How about you do that on your own time, and pay attention to today's lesson." Tenten nodded and looked back at him blankly. "Sure thing, sensei."Asuma nodded and gave her a quick wink before walking back to his desk, confiscating notes from the more obvious students along the way.

Tenten grinned over a Lee and gave him a quick wink, much like Asuma's. "She has the teachers wrapping around her little finger..." Neji muttered. Tenten smirked over at him and laughed under her breath. "More than you know..."

xxxx

"So, want to sit with us, Lee?" Tenten asked as Lee, Neji and her walked down the hallway. "Oh, well, I was planning on sitting with Naruto and Shikamaru, that is if the freshman have lunch with us..." Tenten nodded twice, like she always does. "Yea, they do. The cafeteria is pretty small so we have four different lunch times. We're pretty lucky we don't have the latest time. Last year me and Neji did, and gosh, I was practically starved by then."

Neji looked over at her with a bored look. "That's only because you came early to school every day because of archery club, and had a really early breakfast..." Lee suddenly gasped. Tenten looked questioningly, while Neji just shifted his bored look from Tenten to Lee. "That's the most I've heard you say all day, Neji-kun!"

Neji blinked, as Tenten laughed heartily. "OH EM GEEE!" Lee exclaimed with an exaggerated girly voice. The two more lively of three laughed loudly, while, Neji just looked the other way with his lip twitching slightly.

Lee finally took a calming deep breath and grinned over at Neji over Tenten's head. "So, you guys want to come sit with me and the guys?" Lee asked as they entered the blue themed cafeteria, instantly finding his two friends. Tenten looked sincerely regretful, while Neji just walked over to the table where Sasuke, Ino and Sakura were already seated by the stretched window. Lee frowned and quickly glanced at Neji.

"Sorry, but I promised Ino and Sakura I would go over Chapter Four with them for the Science test they have after lunch." Tenten quickly grabbed Lee's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Tomorrow," she said, looking over at her table of friends. They were staring, well, the two girls at least. She gave one more smile before hurrying over to the table. Lee quickly shrugged and walked toward the other side of the room, next to the window, where Naruto was having a one-sided conversation with a dozing Shikamaru.

"Hey, Lee!" Naruto exclaimed breaking off from his rant about rock climbing. Lee smiled cheerfully and felt a rush of gladness of being with two of his three closest friends. "Hello, Naru-kun, Shika-kun, how were your classes so far?" Shika muttered an expected 'troublesome...' and Naruto made an annoyed sound.

"Well, our first class was History and halfway through the school nurse was dragging the weirdo teacher in..." Lee nodded and opened his bento box. "That was probably Kakashi-sensei, Tenten told me he's always late." Naruto rolled his eyes and sipped his soda loudly. Shikamaru lifted his head from the table top and sent him an annoyed glance, Naruto smiled cutely and shrugged with one shoulder.

Lee chuckled softly. "Ne, Shikamaru, aren't you going to eat?" Lee asked as he stuffed food into his mouth. "No, I want to catch up on the sleep I lost with that crazy smoker teacher blowing smoke in my face whenever I tried to sleep." Naruto chuckled and Lee smiled as the pair across from him had one of their weird fights. Naruto ended it with a warning look that promised something bad for Shikamaru if he didn't stop.

They fell in silence with Naruto eating Shikamaru's uneaten food and scanning the cafeteria. He suddenly stood up and smiled at Lee. "I'll be just back." Lee nodded and lookd at his sleeping friend. A few minutes later Naruto came back with four others. "Hey I thought we should have a full table, so I got some kids I remember from third grade." Naruto grinned and slipped back into his seat next to the brunette lazy ass.

A smiling Kiba sat on Naru's other side while Chouji sat next to Shika, munching on his chips. Hinata shyly slipped next to Lee, who gave her a polite smile that made her blush. Shino sat down next to her without a sound, continuing to eat, without a sound.

For the next ten minutes their table started to liven up. Kiba and Naruto were having a good natured argument about video games, Lee was talking to Hinata, trying to coax her out of her shell, Chouji was actually keeping Shika awake by talking about clouds or whatever, and Shino was even commenting on the Naru/Kiba argument. Lee mentally gasped every time the silent bug boy muttered a word. He actually had the urge to poke him, see if that'll help make him talk more. Maybe...

The bell rang and everyone started getting up, some throwing out their trash, others that had already done that migrated out the doors. "Come on, Lee," Tenten said as she hooked their arms together. "One more class together, than we have our extras." Lee grinned and realized they were heading toward the gymanium. "P.E.?" Lee wondered out loud and Tenten nodded as she pushed him into the boys' locker room. "Take care of him, Neji!" she threw cheerfully over her shoulder as she entered the girls' locker room.

Neji snorted and headed into the office and came out to Lee with a navy shirt and black shorts. "We have to change for this class." Lee nodded and didnt expect the clothes that were thrown at him. "Thanks, Neji!" Lee said cheerfully, and Neji rolled his eyes, opening his locker. "Whatever..." Lee frowned and opened an empty locker a few away from his. "Ne, you don't still hate me like you did when we were younger, huh, Neji?" Lee asked cautiously.

Neji pulled his own navy shirt over his head and looked briefly at Lee out of the corner of his eye. "I thought I was your 'eternal rival'." he said, rather than answered Lee's question. Lee started retying his black vans and frowned slightly. "That was so childish, I've gotten over that, I'd rather be your friend now," Neji blinked and their eyes met. "You say that now, and you probably do because you were away from that crazy gym teacher of ours, but now you-" "HELLLO YOUTHFUL STUDENTS OF MINEEEEEEEEEE!"

Lee looked up and saw a dark-haired, fuzzy-eyebrowed, blindingly-shiny-white teeth man at the door that lead to gymnasium. "Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaimed in surprise, wondering how likely one could have their old elementary school gym teacher also be their teacher in high school. Gai blinked once and instantly cried out "LEE!" when he saw him.

Lee said his name again, more because of the slowness his brain was taking it in than why he would have at ten years old. At the speed of sound Gai came hurling toward Lee and gave him a bear hug while crying 'manly tears of happiness'. All the boys chalked it up to their teacher being weird and Neji stayed behind to see what would happen. "Ne, Gai-sensei, you're crashing me," Lee said in a muffled voice. Gai let go after a second and took a step back as Lee tried to regain his breath.

"Have you been keeping up with your training, Lee?" he asked seriously. Lee nodded and grinned. "Good.." Gai said slowly. "75 laps around the gymnasium! Go!" Lee instantly took off and Gai turned to Neji. "You too, Neji! Hurry up!"

xxxx

P.E went on with the students being impressed by the new kid's awesome athletic ability and being horrified by all the crazy things Gai was telling him he should do to improve his training and his skill. Tenten sweat dropped as she finally got her chance to talk to Lee, right before they had to go back into the locker rooms to change. "Ne, you might of changed, but Gai-sensei sure hasn't. You know he started here right after we graduated from elementary. Anyway, meet me in the hall way and we'll find where you should go next."

Lee nodded back at her before going into the boy's room. Five minutes later Lee came out to find Tenten leaning against the opposite wall throwing a ball up and down. "Ready?" Lee nodded and took out his schedule from his pocket. Tenten looked down too, and twisted her head to see it properly. "So you're in drama, honors art, photography, and end with a free period. Hmm, extras always include people of different grades, so don't be surprised!" Tenten warned as she expertly wove through the crowds of rushing students who all seemed to be going the opposite way than them.

"You have photography with Neji, I know that. Free period you can pretty much wander around and do what ever. Most upper classmen with free periods at the end just ditch, but they tend to be harder on the lower classmen with these kinda things so I don't suggest it, ok?" Lee nodded, thinking to himself that he wouldn't do that anyway. Well, not without Naruto probably nagging him to.

"I suggest you use your free period to see if you want to join any clubs. They have the list and descriptions and ads in the library," Tenten finished before shoving Lee towards the doors of what obviously was an auditorium. Lee opened it a crack and looked in, seeing about two dozen students sitting in the seats closest to the stage. A brown haired man with a scar across his nose was checking his watch while holding a stack of papers in one hand in front of the student.

"Aa, you must be Lee, the new sophmore," the man said as Lee approached the crowd. Lee nodded and gave a small smile. The man smiled back with a soft kindness and introduced himself. "I'm Iruka, and I am the drama teacher and I am in charge of all plays we have during the school year. We actually just finished one and so we'll be starting on our next one soon. And does anyone know which play that will be?" Everyone was silent and Lee looked blank. Iruka sighed and muttered about uninterested teenagers, which was a bit silly since he looked only in his early twenties anyway.

"We'll be doing A Midsummer's Night Dream. Are you all familiar with this piece?" A few head nodded. Iruka frowned and put down the papers. "Well then we have no point in giving out scripts yet if don't know the actual story yet." He disappeared into the music pit and came back with a box. "Everyone grab a book and start reading the first chapter. When I tell you to, stop and no matter how much you've read we'll start going through it so you can grasp it better, alright? Good." Lee went up and looked at the books without any expression. When he went to grab one, the mother of all cliches, he touched an other persons hand and they both withdrew shyly.

He looked up and was looking at minty green eyes. "Oh, sorry," the pink head said and looked at him with a thoughtful frown. "Don't I know you?" she asked and he grinned. "I'm Rock Lee. I think I remember you, you're Haruno Sakura, aren't you?" Sakura blushed and nodded while grabbing a book.

Lee did the same and they went back to their seat, which coincidentally were next to each other. They hadn't noticed before. "Rock Lee, the boy that had a crush on me when we were in elementary?" Sakura asked. Lee blushed in embarassment and nodded. "Yea, uh, sorry for... yea..." Sakura laughed a little and opened her book. "We better start reading." Lee nodded and they began.

xxxxx

"Hey, Sakura-san?" Sakura turned around at the call of her name. "Yes, Lee-san?" They were right outside the main offices, which were a little away from the auditorium. "Um, you wouldn't happen to know where Honors Art is, would you?" Sakura looked thoughtful and nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure," said the one who had memorized the school map within the hour of getting it. They walked down the hall and up a flight of stairs and kept walking.

"Um, you don't happen to like me anymore... do you?" Sakura suddenly asked awkwardly, a bright pink blush staining her cheeks. Lee grinned, one that would of made Naruto proud. "Nah, ever since I turned thirteen I realized crushes are silly unless you really know a person. Looks aren't everything, so you shouldn't base stuff on that," Lee said with a small smile. Sakura nodded and grinned. "That's good. Er, no offense."

"None taken. And I think you should think about what I said, it might help with unnecessary heartbreak in the future." Sakura nodded again, and started to think. "That's good advice, Lee-san." Lee grinned wider. "Please, call me Lee. You've been so nice, I hope we can be friends," he said before entering the classroom filled with easels and other art supplies. Sakura stopped for a minute outside and took a step into the room. "I'd like that Lee!" she said with a bright smile before rushing out. Lee grinned happily and scanned the room.

"Ah! Hinata, we have a class together!" Lee rushed over to the quiet girl, who was sitting by herself in the back. "Oh, Lee, I'm g-glad to see you here," she offered a soft smile and got one in return. "So, are you an artist, Hinata-chan?" Lee said happily. During lunch he'd come to like Hinata as if she were a little sister. "Umm, I-I'm not sure if I'm th-that good, but I do like art..." she blushed in embarassment at her shy ways and Lee felt the need to cheer her up.

"I'm sure you're good. Anyone is an artist if they put their feelings and emotions into their art!" "And that, class, is the kind of thing I would like to hear around here!" Lee and Hinata looked up startled to see a women with spiky purple hair and a long jacket smirking proudly down at them. "Hello, new kid, I am the Art teacher, Anko. Good little speech there." Lee grinned sheepishly at the teacher and noted her likeness to Naruto.

"Thank you, I'm Rock Lee." Anko nodded once and walked over to her desk. "Now everyone, I would like you all to try experimenting with new mediums you don't usually use. People tend to stick to one kinda medium without actually trying anything else. That can be a big mistake." She scanned the room for reaction and smirked again. "Well, what are you waiting for? Move it!" The students slowly went to work. Anko was an especially fun teacher to piss off. Sometimes she came to class drunk, which made it even more fun. Or so Tenten told Lee earlier in the day.

Lee leaned back to look at his charcoal sketch of the school's courtyard, which he had a perfect view of from the window he was sitting next to. He had been in silent concentration the whole time, trying to capture the peaceful and calm look of the daffodils swaying in the breeze and the japenese maple leaves falling gracefully to the school's perfectly green lawn. Or so Lee was thinking in his mind.

Lee grinned slightly and thought about how charcoal was a fun but messy medium to use. He had a hard time trying not to get the picture all smudged. He looked to his right at Hinata, who was having a fun time with watercolors. He looked and smiled approvingly at her pretty painting of a sunflower. She did a good job of blending the colors and making it look lifelike. "What'd I say, Artist-chan?" he whispered affectionately and Hinata actually looked back at him with a sincere smile, her face free of any shade of red. "T-thank you, Lee-kun."

xxxxxx

"Hey, do you know where Photography is?" Lee asked Hinata as the exited the Art room. Hinata looked thoughtful but she slowly shook her head. "I don't have that class, so I can't help you there. Sorry," Hinata looked really bad. Lee smiled at her and then smiled bigger when he saw Neji coming down the hall right towards them. "That's alright, Hinata-chan. Neji has it, I'll just ask him, see you later!"

And he sped off after Neji, who'd passed them and was going downstairs. "Neji, wait up, I'm in Photography with you." Lee finally caught up and Neji looked at him just a second before turning suddenly into a room. Lee followed and was quickly attacked by a blonde ball of energy. "Yeay, finally we have a class together! Free period after this?" Naruto asked, refusing to let go of his raven haired friend. As soon as Lee nodded, Naruto stopped glomping him and dragged him over to a bunch of unoccupied seats.

"I wonder what this class is like-" "Shut up class and pay attention." Naruto was interrupted by a tall, muscular man with a bandage around the lower part of his face, and spiky dark hair. Naruto's mouth closed with a click. "Who the hell are you?" Naruto asked bluntly, though not as loud as he used to be. The man, obviously the teacher, turned toward Naruto and glared.

From behind Zabuza a boy with long hair stepped out and smiled at them. "Ne, this is Zabuza-sensei. I am Haku, the student aid. You must be new here, I'll explain all the basics we learned at the beginning of the year so you can be up to date." Zabuza seemed to lose interest after that and turned to the rest of the class while Haku sat in front of the two and started off.

xxxxxxx

Naruto and Lee walked out of the classroom slowly, both smiling and thinking happily to themselves. "Isn't it so cool that we get field trips for this class. I think this will be my favorite, I mean even though Zabuza-sensei is a bit harsh, he seems kind of cool," Naruto said smiling to himself. "Too bad Shika's not taking this one, I'm in all his other class after all. Oh, well, now we have free period with him. Wanna skip?" Lee sweat dropped, having seen this coming, but shook his head.

Then turning his head he caught sight of Neji. "Ne, Neji!" Lee called over and actually Lee went to him. "Do you have free period now?" Lee asked smiling at the stoic boy in front of him. Naruto stood behind him, silently waiting for his friend. "No," Neji answered quickly and started walking off.

"Oh, cause I was gonna ask if you'd like to hang out with me and my friends, but guess since your..." Lee sighed and gave up talking to Neji's back and turned back to Naruto. "Let's find the library," Naruto nodded. "Yea, I have a feeling Shika will be there anyway, probably realized it's the best place to nap." Lee laughed and they saw Kiba running down the hall. "Hey, Kiba, where's the library?" Naruto asked the brunette, who quickly pointed to the next corridor and hurried off, yelling "last on the left" over his shoulder.

Indeed they found Shika sleepying with his head a table in the back of the library. "Come on, Tenten said they have stuff here about clubs and whatever." Lee said impatiently, Naruto nodded and shoved Shikamaru off the chair he was sleeping on. Shikamaru glared at him from where he was on the floor, but Naruto just grinned and offered his hand.

It took them all the whole period to figure out Naruto wanted to join Ski Club, thus making Lee and Shikamaru join too, Shikamaru wanted nothing to do with any club at all though he was forced into the ski club..., and Lee decided he didn't want to do anything that would consume anymore time, seeing as they all pretty much had enough to do anyway.

Naruto joked that they didn't have much school spirit. Shikamaru just snorted and muttered about school spirit took too much energy, so therefore it was too troublesome. Which then started a mini fight session with the two freshman, Lee watched with an amused glint in his eye.

xxxx

When the bell finally rang, signalling the school day's end they were all glad to get outside. Lee quickly lead them all outside, and found Tenten and the rest of her friends. Sakura waved friendily at him and he smiled in return.

"So how was your first day?" Tenten asked. Lee smiled, and shrugged. "It was pretty good," he said and turned toward his friends. "Choose any clubs?" she asked quickly knowing her bus was leaving school, especially with Sasuke tapping his wrist watch impatiently.

"Us three are all joining the ski club," Lee said quickly and looked at his two waiting friends. Tenten nodded and smiled. "Oh, we're all part of that club! This should be fun. Well, I got to go, my bus is always the first, which sucks, but whatever, soon I'll be able to drive. See you tomorrow, Lee,"

"Bye, Tenten," He waved as she ran off and Lee turned to the two and they started walking off on the street.

"Lee." Lee stopped and turned to see Neji. "I'll... be your friend if you want," Neji said stiffly and Lee smiled in happy amusement. "Of, course!" Lee exclaimed and risked a quick hug.

"Ja ne!" he said quickly and ran off.

xxxxxx

A/N: Fun to write. Yeay. If anyone can figure out which pairings I'm planning so far I'll dedicate the next chapter to you.

I didn't feel like actually typing Hinata's stuttering much, too annoying, but w/e. you get the point. Hope no one was too OOC.

Go ahead and tell me if anything's wrong. Just try not to put it in a flame-y kinda way. constructive critisiumsp?lol.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything else that might be mentioned.


	2. Two

A/N: Okay, boo people. no reviews. that sux. at the very least you could give me a review saying: 'update soon', or something equally as review-cliche. whatever... So, just for that, no true leads to the pairings just yet. Come on! (pouts) Okay... On with the fic!

x

My Countdown Starts Now

xxxx

Naruto grinned at his mirror, tugging at his long sleeved, orange and charcoal striped shirt. No matter what happened over the last few years, Naruto would never give up his favorite color.

He brushed his long bangs out of his eyes. No longer the spiky mess of blonde, now Naruto had straight hair growing, shorter than Lee's, but alot choppier. He stared into the mirror, absently tapping his lip and finally leaned over to a box on his dresser, taking out a simple black choker and quickly putting it on.

A knock on the door interuppted his staring contest with himself, and he quickly ran out of his bedroom to get the door. "Ne, morning! I'm almost ready!" Naruto exclaimed, letting Lee and Shikamaru in before racing into the living room to get his things. The two friends sat in the cramped kitchen, Lee grabbing an apple out of a basket, and Shika leaning against the counter.

Naruto joined them there grinning as he put on his studded belt, seeing as his dark jeans were a tad too big and barely staying on his hips. "Ready!" He exclaimed just as Lee threw the apple core into the trash can and Shikamaru started toward the door.

Shikamaru was wearing dark blue jeans, his favorite grey, green-trimmed jacket over a tight brown band shirt and a leather, studded cuff on his left wrist. Unlike when he was younger, Shika wore his hair down, almost touching his broad shoulders.

All three were pretty fit , seeing as Naruto wasn't the only one in the group master of the almighty 'puppy-dog eyes' trick, _coughleesdoingcough_. Sadly Shikamaru was neither a master of nor immune to it, which he'd cursed over a hundred time in this week alone.

Lee was wearing practically the same as the day before, but with a dark green over-sized hoodie from his favorite band and his favorite graffitied pair of low chucks. Shikamaru and Naruto were wearing similiar shoes, but Naruto's with orange laces, and Shikamaru's without a mark.

Naruto jogged a bit to catch up with his taller companions. "So, I was thinking of getting my lip pierced soon. What do you think?" Lee grinned. "That would be cool, I myself was thinking of getting a tongue ring in he future..." Naruto chuckled and nodded his approval. He glanced at Shikamaru. "What do you think, Shika?"

Shikamaru frowned and looked at the blonde from the corner of his eye. "I don't know..." Naruto instantly pouted and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "You're the one who's had his ears pierced since he was eight! Don't be a hypocrite!" Lee nodded in agreement and Shikamaru just scowled. "Do what you want, I don't care." Naruto looked pissed and entered the school gate still glaring at Shika.

Which is probably why he bumped into someone almost right away. "Oh, sorry," Naruto said quickly on reflex. "You better be sorry, _dobe_," Naruto looked up and scowled at the dark figure. "You! You know, we're both fifteen now, don't you think it's about time you stopped calling me that, you bastard!" Sasuke just smirked and walked away without a word.

Naruto glared sourly after him and he looked up to see Shikamaru with a relaxing hand on his shoulder. "Just let it go, he's an asshole who doesn't deserve your time." Naruto instantly brightened and gave Shikamaru a rare smile. "Yea, you're right," he said with his rare soft voice. Lee smiled at his two friends and was suddenly wrenched from his musings by sudden bear hug from around behind.

"Hey, Tenten," Lee groaned into the hug and she let go. He turned to see her, Neji and Hinata. Neji had a smirk on his face and Hinata had a warm little smile. "G-good morning, Lee-kun," Hinata said under her bangs. Tenten grinned at the younger, shy girl and patted her head.

"Come one, Lee, don't want to be late," Tenten said while grabbing/dragging the raven haired boy, her plaited skirt flying slightly with her speed. Today she was wearing a dark skirt, white knee-highs, a purple hoodie, and brown and pink Vans. Neji and Hinata hurrily followed them realizing the time. Naruto and Shikamaru had already gone.

xxx

"So, you'll sit with us today?" Lee asked Tenten as they entered the cafeteria. She nodded, and grabbed Neji's arm tightly as if not to let him wonder off . "Hey, Lee! We're sitting outside today!" Naruto yelled from across the cafeteria, next to the door leading from the cafeteria to the outside. Lee nodded and Naruto was instantly dragging Shikamaru outside with him.

They found Naruto and Shikamaru under a large tree with their lunch buddies from the day before. Hinata smiled up at them and Chouji waved. Everyone else were preoccupied; Naruto and Kiba were arguing once again, Shika was sleeping, and Shino was watching the ants walking one after the other into the ant hill. Quite fascinating, wouldn't you say?

Lee sat next to Hinata and started asking how her classes were, Hinata talked about the History class and somehow Tenten got into the conversation. So Lee left the girls to their talking, and tried to start a conversation with Neji. "So, what clubs are you part of here, Neji?" "Ski club, student government..." "Oh, so no sports?" "No." Not very much out of that.

"Do you mind if we eat with you guys?" The group all looked up, seeing Sakura had asked with Sasuke and Ino behind her. Lee smiled friendily and nodded. Lee immediately gave up on Neji and decided to talk to Sakura. "So, have you thought about which roll you want to be in the play, Sakura-san?" Lee asked politely.

Sakura pressed her finger to her lip and looked thoughtful. "I was thinking maybe either Hermia or Hippolyta," Sakura answered, a blush coming for some reason. Lee smiled. "I think you would make a great Hermia!" Sakura smiled happily and Ino giggled. Sakura gave her a warning look and Ino just rolled her eyes and returned to staring at Sasuke. Who currently was insulting a hardly restrained Naruto.

"So, dobe, that's a nice collar you got there, where's your owner, boy?" Sasuke snickered at his own joke and Shikamaru was having a hard time trying to stop Naruto from attacking the Uchiha.

"For your information, it's not a collar, it's a choker. And I don't have an 'owner', but unfortunately for _you_, I _am_ taken. So back off, you damn ice block." Sasuke scowled and took a big bite of his sandwich, rather violently. "Oh, really, well who is this supposed 'girlfriend' of yours, or maybe it's a boyfriend?" Sasuke smirked viciously.

Naruto just glared at him coldly. "None. Of. Your. Damn. Business." said Naruto standing up. "Asshole!" Everyone watched as Naruto stomped away with a dark cloud over his head. Shikamaru and Kiba glared over at the suddenly victorious-looking Uchiha.

"Uchiha, you have to be the most troublesome fuckhead I've ever met," Shikamaru said, his lazy tone edged with anger, and left jogging after the seething blonde.

Lee frowned and shook his head at Sasuke while Kiba yelled at him and Ino yelled at Kiba. Sakura and Tenten looked apologetic for what Sasuke had said, while Neji just rolled his eyes. Hinata and Chouji looked uncomfortable, while Shino looked blank with his dark shades hiding any emotion.

"Ne, maybe you should go help Shikamaru-san calm Naruto-kun down, Lee-kun?" Hinata said quietly. Lee smiled weakly at her. "Nah, I think Shikamaru can handle it." The group ate in silence a little longer before Sakura finally broke it. "So what about you, Lee-kun, what character were you thinking of?"

Lee smiled and answered right away. "Well, I wouldn't mind too much if I got any of the parts, but I'd love to be Oberon or Theseus. I don't really want to be one of the love-tangled teenagers, it's a bit too much for me," Lee chuckled a little and Ino grinned.

"Hmm, wouldn't it be interesting to have Sakura play as Hippolyta to Lee's Theseus?" Sakura blushed in embarassment and tried to hit Ino, which ended up with the two to running around the grounds the remainder of lunch time. Lee simply chuckled and turned to Tenten, Hinata and Neji to talk about the upcoming basketball season.

xxxx

"Ne, anyone wanna come to the arcade with me and Shika?" Naruto asked the group as they walked out of school. Behind him were Shikamaru, Lee, Tenten, Neji, Hinata, and Kiba. They met up with Shino and Chouji at the gate, close to where Sasuke was waiting for his bus with his two fangirls.

Lee nodded quickly and Kiba made a loud show of saying he and Shino would come. Shino rolled his eyes behind his glasses, but shrugged none the less. Chouji exclaimed he was needed at home, as did Hinata.

Neji just shook his head and Tenten said she had practice in ten minutes. Sakura chirped in that she'd tag along, meanwhile Ino elbowing her with a grin, which she ignored.

Naruto froze and looked thoughtful. "Oh, yea, what time do we need to be over Kankuro's, Lee?" Lee slapped his forehead and looked sheepish. "Thank God you reminded me, Naruto, I almost forgot. We have to get there around four thirty. Kankuro woulda killed us if we were late."

Tenten quirked an eyebrow. "Who's this Kankuro guy? And why does it matter if you're late?" The others seemed to become interested and unconsciously listened up.

Lee sweatdropped, as did Naruto. Shikamaru blinked lazily and rolled his eyes. "Kankuro's a friend of ours from our old school and we're going over his house to get ready for our job."

Naruto looked relieved, but Lee still fidgeted a bit, like he was waiting for a chance to bolt.

"Aren't you guys a bit under the proper age for work, you know, according to child labor laws?" Sasuke asked suspiciously and eyed the nervous Lee and the now shifty Naruto.

Shikamaru sighed in annoyance and shifted his feet impatiently. "We work at this club for a few hours, child labor laws don't effect us because we only don't work so much a week. Besides, Lee is within legal age of it, we only have a year before we are. Now are we going to the arcade or not, we only have an hour left now. Gosh, you people and your questions... so troublesome."

Tenten looked down at her watch and yelped. "I'm late for practice! See you guys tomorrow!" Tenten yelled as she started sprinting toward the gymnasium.

The spell of suspicion was broken and everyone went their own ways, Naruto leading the small group to the nearby arcade.

xxxxx

When they got to the arcade they all split up. Kiba went to the car racing games, yelling at Shino to play against him. Naruto played Street Fighters for ten minutes before making Shika play air hockey with him.

Lee, who'd been playing with Naruto, went onto one player mode, but stopped when Sakura asked him to play Dance Dance Revolution with her. He did happily, even though he missed a few on the easiest mode, while Sakura was doing pretty good on a medium-ish mode. She giggled everytime Lee hurriedly tried doing moves just to be too late.

An hour later Naruto, Shika and Lee were saying good bye to Kiba and Shino, while Sakura walked with them until she had to take an other street to her house.

xxxxx

"Okay, so Kankuro can't complain, we're five minutes early," Naruto said looking at his digital watch. "Your watch is slow, we're a minute late," Shikamaru stated boredly and Naruto pushed him playfully into the door. "Yea, yea, whatever, genius boy."

"Late," Temari stated plainly when she answered the door.

"You know, you're here enough, you might as well just open the door yourself, it wasn't locked," Temari complained, going back to watching her show in the living room. "Yea, I'll remeber that, blondie," Naruto said as they headed for the basement. Temari just snorted and ate her piece of cheese cake.

"You're blond too, Naruto," Lee said as they climbed down the steps. Naruto looked up at him and grinned. "I'm blond, not _blonde_."

"Yea, right, blondie," Kankuro said boredly from his place behind his drum set. Naruto stuck out his tongue and reached out for his own instrument.

"Let's just start, shall we," Lee said neutrally, turning on all of the amps and microphones.

xxxxxx

A/N: Haha, the pairings are actually not really how they seem, not exactly. Keep that in mind. So come on people, review. It drives me crazy. Really, it does, and I'm sure any other author reading this would agree. Okay, besides guessing the pairings, I'll also dedicate the next chapter if you guess who has which instrument, besides Kankuro of course. Just for fun, give it a shot, kay? REVIEW! gosh!

Ja Ne..


	3. Three

A/N: Ok, hey this chapter is dedicated to ReiKai101, Inomuiro, & Chou ni Natte. Thanks guys! And read on.

xxxx

My Countdown Starts Here

xxxx

"Ne, Lee, tell us about your old school," Tenten demanded as the ate their lunch the next day, under the same tree as before. Lee looked up from his conversation with Sakura and glanced at his two best friends who gave him twin looks back. The others all stopped their own doings, becoming interested as well. Tenten grinned at him, as she smoothed out her skirt. Today she wore a nice teal Chinese style shirt with silver trim.

Hinata fidgeted with her fingers and played with the loose thread from her sweater. "I-it would seem you guys have r-really changed since you left," she blushed with everyone's eyes on her. Lee smiled and waved his hands. "Okay, that's fair enough. Ask away!"

Ino smiled and decided she wanted to ask first. "So, Lee-san, what school did you attend?" Lee blinked and grinned. "We were all accepted at NAMA. And we actually graduated a year early from it, that's why we're here. Usually we would of had a year left, since they go by the amount of time you've been there rather than the usual grade system." Lee grinned a little proudly and Naruto seemed to shine even prouder, while Shikamaru just yawned.

"NAMA? I've never heard of a school like that..." Kiba spoke for most of them, while some nodded and others looked like they were searching their memories for such a place. "NAMA. National Art & Music Academy, besides the government required learning material they also enrich students in the teachings of a wide varity of arts and music."

Everyone turned to Neji completely surprised at his knowledge of the school. He merely shrugged. "Uncle donates money there..." Hinata nodded. "Yes, now I remember, yes, we sometimes visit when they hold open house and important events there."

"How did _you_ guys get into that school, it sounds like a pretty good school to attend," Sasuke asked with his eyebrow raised. Naruto scowled at him and huffed. "They had a booth set up at the annual summer festival and we got recognized for our great potential," Naruto snapped, thoroughly irritated with the Uchiha since yesterday. Sasuke snorted, and Lee gave him a warning glare.

"Aa, that's why you're such a wonderful artist, Lee-kun!" Hinata exclaimed shyly, smiling at him with an affection of a caring sister. Lee smiled at her. "Ne, I suppose, but I will admit, Naruto-kun is a much better artist than I," Lee stated truthfully. Ino nodded and looked thoughtful. "Ne, Naruto's in my Art class and I gotta say, I was really surprised with his painting!" Naruto simply beamed with the complements.

"Ne, so, you graduated a year early. You guys must be very good." Kiba stated a little flatly, still a bit surprised at te new information.The three looked at each other and grinned. Right then the bell rang, ending lunch, so they all packed up and hurried toward the school.

xxxx

At the end of the day the three friends looked happy to leave. Despite Naruto's perfect 'puppy-dog' eyes, Lee refused to cut, so they stayed in the library, playing hide and seek, much to the librarian's dismay.

"Haha, did you see her face when I jumped down from the top shelf!" Naruto chirped happily, his cerulean eyes laughing in merriment. "She nearly had a heartattack," Shikamaru said, with a grin on his lips.

"Race you to the gate, Shika!" Naruto suddenly yelled, already off. Shika quickly muttered a 'how troublesome', and sprinted after him. Lee chuckled good humoredly and watched them go. "Ne, Lee!" Tenten said, clapping her handon his shoulder. He turned to see her smiling face.

"This weekend I was thinking of having a little get-together, not really a party, but they'll be chips and shit. Wanna come?" she asked hurriedly, glancing at her wrist watch every few seconds. Lee blinked. "Who's coming?" he asked, looking at his friends, where they were waiting for him. "Oh, you know, Sasuke, Ino, Sakura, Neji, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Chouji. Ask your friends too for me okay?" Lee looked thoughtful.

"Can I invite a few people you don't know, they're really nice, and they won't be much of a bother... well, they wouldn't start anything anyway..." Tenten smiled and nodded and let go of his shoulder. "Sure, I hope they're not too wild. My parents will have a cow if the house gets messed up! Well, practice calls, see ya!" She went off like a bolt of lightening.

Lee joined his friends, Sakura, Ino, Kiba, Hinata and Chouji had joined them and it was obvious they were all going to the arcade. "You guys want to go over Tenten's house for a little get-together this weekend?" Lee asked right away. Naruto nodded happily, while Shikamaru gave him a look. "Aa, if it's on Saturday night, we can't. Work, remember." Shikamaru reminded the two others. "Oh, yea, damn, I'm so forgetful. Ne, Sakura do you know what day Tenten planned it?" Lee asked, turning to the pinkie.

Sakura smiled and nodded. "She said Friday night, so that shouldn't be a problem, should it?" Lee shook his head and grinned. "That's great! I was planning on inviting a few of my own friends too. " Shika cocked an eyebrow. "You're not talking about Kankuro, Temari and the insomniac, are you?" Lee nodded. "Don't call him an insomniac, you know his condition. I thought they'd have fun meeting our friends."

Naruto looked sceptical as did Shikamaru. "Just as long as Temari doesn't bring any booze, you know her when she's drunk!" the blonde said, wincing a little at a memory. Lee blushed and looked sheepish. "I'll ask Gaara to make sure she doesn't." Naruto looked satisfied, while Shika still frowned slightly.

"Who are you talking about?" Ino asked curiously, never not knowing about a person others were talking about, school gossip queen as she was. "Just a friend from NAMA and his siblings. They're kinda like a second family to us." Lee answered, Naruto almost immediately started laughing uncontrollably, causing Shika to elbow him in irritation. The other just left it at that and walked on to the arcade in silence.

xxxxx

"Hmm, you're much better at ping pong than DDR, Lee-san," Ino said playful, just barely hitting the ball back in time. Lee winked and stuck out his tongue just as playfully. "You can call me Lee, Ino-chan, no need for formality." Ino nodded happily and hit the ball off the table.

"So, do you like Sakura, Lee-kun?" Ino asked in a way she hoped sounded casual. Lee chuckled and served the ball. "We're becoming good friends," Lee said obliviously. Ino smiled as she swatted at the ball. "Ne, she seems pretty fond of you, you know..." Lee grinned. "Oh, I'm glad, she's such a sweet girl!" Ino's eye glinted, making Lee miss the ball in surprise. "Um, I'll get that," Lee said uncertainly, going past the air hockey tables to get the still bouncing ball.

"Okay, Lee?" Naruto asked without taking his eyes off his shooting game. "Err... yea," Lee said, on his knees trying to get the ball from behind the machine. He was momentarily distracted, so he didn't see Sakura rush from her racing game to go yell at Ino, who looked sheepish, yet victorious. When Lee came back with the ball, Sakura tugged at his sleeve. "Ne, Lee, you should improve your DDR skills, come on." Ino smiled as she caught the ball Lee dropped as he was dragged across the room.

"Ne, Chouji, wanna play me?" Ino yelled to where Chouji and Shikamaru were playing a game of Jurassic Park III. "Sure, just wait until I die, okay, ready," he said, leaving Shikamaru to defend himself against the vicious dinosaurs.

"Need, help, Shika?" Naruto asked, sliding into the seat where Chouji was a second ago. Shikamaru grunted in affirmation, too focused on the overwhelming beasts. Naruto quickly put in his tokens and went into his rare 'absolute-full-concentration' mode.

"So the party thing, what do you think," Naruto asked, saying each word between each of his kills. Shikamaru grunted, then answered, knowing exactly what Naruto was asking about. "Well, the longer we're around them, the more they'll find out just how much has changed."

Naruto gave a small victorious laugh as they rose to the next level. "Yea, and somehow I think a few things'll slip out of one of the Sabakus' mouths. Well, maybe not Panda, he's never been much of a talker." Naruto grinned, his adreneline pumping along with a bit excitement about the Friday plans.

"But, still, we'll have fun." Naruto chirped, happily killing away the digital dinos. "Just as long as Temari has no alcohol. She's even crazier with it in her system. Gosh, even the scent..." Shikamaru muttered, angrily beating on his stuck shooting button. Naruto quickly shot a dino that would of took the last of Shika's life, and punched the button, effectively unsticking it. Shikamaru smiled slightly and went back to the game.

Hinata moved around looking over everyone's game, not knowing what to do next. She stopped behind Kiba, admiring his fighting skill in Mortal Combat II. "Wanna play me after I finish this round, Hinata-chan," Kiba asked without taking his eyes off the screen. Hinata blushed and mumbled a quiet sure, continuing to watch. "I'll give you some tips. I'm not as good as I look, Shino and Chouji can still beat me once in a while," Kiba said knowing full well Hinata's doubt about even having a chance of winning. Hinata nodded and smiled happily.

Lee smiled as he watched the screen with the utmost attention, finally getting the hang of the game. Sakura smiled, watching him from the corner of her eye. "Ne, you've definitely improved, we can play a game of your choice after we're done this round," she said, getting a bit tired and a little too sweaty for her taste.

"Let's play some air hockey." Lee said hitting the last step perfectly. He wiped his forehead quickly and grinned over at the pink head. "That was fun, it was almost like a workout," Lee chuckled, leading the way to the air hockey tables in the back.

Ino grinned as she passed them and walked up to where Shikamaru and Naruto were getting their tokens out of the machine. "Shika, let's play some DDR. I bet I could beat you with my eyes closed." Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he gathered up his tokens.

Naruto elbowed him silently and gave a teasing grin that made the brunette scowl. "Come on!" Ino chirped as she grabbed and started dragging him away. Naruto just waved at his miserable friend and put in his money for the token exchange.

Hinata giggled as her character kept hitting Kiba's in the nose. Kiba was yelling at the machine for sticking and kept banging on it. A few seconds later the screen light up saying Player Two KOed Player One. Kiba growled but his face softened once he realized Hinata was giggling. "Ne, I'll just tell the worker dude that this game's out of order. Be back in a second."

Hinata nodded and turned to see Ino yelling at the sluggishly moving Shikamaru on the DDR in the center of the room. A whole new round of giggles spilled out, and that's how Kiba found her. Kiba smiled, seeing how she was laughing so much it was bringing tears to her eyes.

"Hey, wanna soda? You must be tired from all of that laughing," Kiba asked with a playful grin. Hinata nodded and they went to the far-left corner that was devoted to snack and soda machines.

Naruto was watching Chouji play Sonic pinball, every once in a while looking up to laugh loudly at the now twitching-from-female-harassment Shikamaru.

"Hey, Shika, play Capcom vs. Marvel with me," Naruto finally said, finally coming to his rescue. Ino fumed slightly as she watched Naruto drag away the lazy ass, before she set her eyes on the lone Chouji. "Chouji, come play with me!" she chirped happily.

Sakura smirked across the air hockey table at Lee. "The next score determines the winner, Lee-san." Lee hit back the puck with vigor. "You can call me just Lee, we're friends now," Lee said concentrating on the game. Sakura smiled and smashed the puck, getting the winning point. Lee blinked a few times and scratched the back of his head. "Well, I guess you win." Sakura cheered and pumped her fist up into the air.

"And you have to... buy me a soda as a reward," Sakura said with a more calm tone. Lee looked surprised for a second before giving her a small grin. "Fair enough," he said heading to the corner were Hinata and Kiba were talking quietly.

"Hey, you two," Lee said playfully in a teasing tone as he fumbled in his pockets for his wallet. "Hey, look who's talking! You've been around Sakura for over an hour!" Kiba exclaimed defensively while Hinata blushed silently. Lee's cheeks tinted pink, and inserted his money.

"Hinata, your Father sent me to get you," Neji said, somehow silently appearing without their realization. Lee jumped slightly, while Kiba's eye kept twitching. Hinata looked down at her watch, checking the time. "Oh, I-I didn't know it was so late! I'll see you guys at school," she gave them each a quick smile and ran out of the arcade where a nice, shiny Jeep was waiting.

Neji followed more slowly, in his more dignified way. "Well, better go give that soda to your _girlfriend_," Kiba said, turning back to Lee. Neji looked back slightly, and Lee blushed as their eyes met. He quickly broke it and turned to the wild brunette next to him.

Lee frowned and smacked him over the head. Kiba gingerly rubbed the sore spot with a pout. "We're just friends." he said walking over to where the pink girl waited. Kiba watched him with a pout and glanced at the now smirking Neji. He blinked, but decided to just go play some Pac Man without thinking about it.

"Oh, orange! My favorite," Sakura exclaimed happily as Lee handed her the soda. "So, Hinata left?" she asked sipping at her drink. "Yea, it's pretty late," Lee mused as he looked out the arcade doors at the darkening street.

"Hmm, maybe I should go home..." Sakura muttered thoughtful. Lee nodded and waved Shikamaru and Naruto over. "Let's go guys." Naruto groaned, but was silenced from a look from Lee, and Shika looked a bit relieved. They left, saying good bye to Chouji and Kiba, Ino having left a little earlier than Hinata.

"Do you want me to walk you home, Sakura-chan?" Lee asked as they got to the street where they'd separated yesterday. "Oh, no thanks. I live just a few houses down, no big deal. Thanks anyway," Sakura replied, giving him a smile and waving good bye to the others.

For a few more blocks they were silent until Naruto let out a big breath and turned to Lee. "Do you like Sakura-chan, cause you two seem to be getting pretty close!" Naruto exclaimed, tugging at his long sleeves.

Lee rolled his eyes, and Shika elbowed Naruto harshly. "Don't be dumb, you know how Lee always gets close to people. He's just a naturally friendly guy," he said lazily with his hands in his pockets.

Naruto frowned at him, then turned to Lee. "Well?" Lee sighed and tried looking tired. "We're just friends," he said simply in an 'end-of-subject' tone.Naruto blinked and looked satisfied. "That's all you had to say, you know!"

Lee and Shikamaru shared a look before bursting out laughing. Naruto blinked innocently and growled the next second. "I hate when you two do that. STOP! Making fun of ME!" Naruto growled, stomping away from them while their laughter just increased.

"Ne, Naruto-kun, it's just that your childishness is so..." Lee tried, as they jogged to catch up. "Hilarious," Shikamaru finished for him with a smile. Naruto just huffed, trying to stop a smile from touching his lips.

"Ne, here's my house,guys. I'll call up Kankuro now and tell him about the thing on Friday," Lee said as he started taking his keys out. Naruto grinned fox-like and waved. "This should be fun!" Shikamaru just shook his head and they started walking off to their own houses again.

"See ya tomorrow, Lee!" Naruto shouted over his shoulder. Lee smiled at his departing best friends and opened the door into his dark, empty house.

xxx

"Hey, Kankuro?" "Yea," Kankuro answered from his end. He was watching one of those rare shows all three of the Sabaku siblings liked. Temari shushed him while the good part came on. "It's Lee."

Kankuro snorted and swiped the chips from Gaara's lap. "I could tell," he said through a mouthful of chips. Gaara growled, snatching back his snack, then throwing a Cheeto at his older brother.

"Ne, one of my friends from my new school is having a get-together, and I thought you guys would have fun coming. They're really... nice people." Kankuro gave a thoughtful sound and put the phone down slightly to talk to the other two.

"Party at Lee's friend's house, wanna go?" Temari looked up from the screen, sipping her soda. "When?" Kankuro went back to the phone.

"When?"

"Friday night."

"Friday night," Kankuro relayed to his older sister.

"Sure, that could be..." she evilly grinned suddenly. "...fun." He turned to Gaara. "How bout you?" Gaara shrugged with one shoulder, eyes intently watching the show progress. "Yea, we'll all go," Kankuro answered flatly.

"Awesome! Well, we'll be there anyway for practice, so we can all just walk over together, she only lives a few blocks away," Lee told him happily. Kankuro nodded blankly, being too occupied by the show to realize Lee couldn't see.

"So, uh, see you Friday. 3:30 sharp. Remember." "Right! Oh, can you give the phone to Gaara for a few seconds?" "Gaara," Kankuro shoved the phone in his face. "Lee wants to talk to you."

Gaara growled and wacked him over the head with the phone before answering it. "Hn." "Ne, Gaara-kun, can you do me a favor and make sure Temari-chan doesn't bring any booze. I'd hate for what happened at New Years to happen again." Gaara cringed slightly. "Sure."

"Thank you. I gotta go now, say good bye to your sibs for me. Ja. -click-" Gaara set down the phone in it's cradle and grabbed a handful of chips. "What he say?" Kankuro asked absently as he snatched the chips.

"No booze, Temari," Gaara said simply, taking back the chips and moving them out of reach. "Aww! No fair," Temari cried melodramatically, while Kankuro tried snatching the chips again from over Gaara's back.

"You're always hogging the chips, Gaara. Come on share it!" Gaara turned with a mouth full of chip. "Ib dunb habe twooo. I bwought dem." Gaara said, smirking as tiny bits of chips covered in saliva flew all over Kankuro's face.

Kankuro frowned irritatedly at his brother, eye twitching like it always did when these kinds of things happened to him. Temari laughted from her place on the lazy boy. "Me! It's just always and only me!" Kankuro muttered angrily as he leaned back into the comfy sofa. Gaara snorted with a rare grin on his face and turned back to the program.

xxx

Lee hung up the phone and smiled. Then he turned and left the kitchen to go to his bedroom.

He threw his pack on his desk chair and jumped onto his bed. "It was long day..." he muttered as his eyes started to flutter close.

xxx

A/N: Yep, so would of been out sooner if my brother didn't hog the laptop so much. Grr. The arcade thing might not be so accurate or whatever. Oh well, it's my fic, my made-up arcade. Thanks to all my reviewers. I love you guys, you made me so happy! D

Maybe the pairings will be a bit clearer next chapter... -smiles evilly- haha, don't mind me...

So Review! Next chappie out soon!

Oh, and maybe I should do this again. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other whatever. You get the point.


	4. Four

A/N: So an other chapter. I'm just trying to get as much done as possible cause I'll be away two weeks starting Saturday. -.-v My muse for this fic better not disappear over the time, or else I'll be annoyed. It's been so much fun writing this. Thank you for your reviews. This chapter is dedicated to: ninja sloth! yeay!

My Countdown Starts Now

xxxx

Hinata looked around shyly, fidgeting with her skirt as she waited to see the faces of her friends. Today she was wearing something very different from her usual attire. Now if Hiashi wasn't surprised when Hinata decided to start growing out her hair when she was twelve, he sure was surprised to see her dressed less like her child of the past and more like the teenager she was.

Today she'd summoned enough courage to go from her usual sweater and jeans to a plain tan tank top and a purple skirt and lavender high chucks she'd gotten when she went shopping with Tenten last. Her only accessory was a simple daisy hairclip holding back some loose locks from one side of her face.

"You look different today, Hinata-chan," Shino said politely as he walked in with Kiba. Kiba took one look at her and grinned. "Wow, Hinata, you're even more pretty than usual," he said friendily, slinging an arm over her shoulder. Hinata blushed , glowing completely red.

Kiba wasn't that bad looking himself. His hair was pretty much the same messy-just-out-of-bed style. He was wearing baggy, camoflage pants, a black muscle shirt and an oversized brown hoodie. Not to mention his black Doc Martins, the one's he drew on in silver sharpie everyday since seventh grade. Not so black anymore...

"T-thank you, K-kiba-kun," Hinata mumbled with her head down, trying to hide her blushing. Kiba simply grinned and began leading the way to Homeroom with Kakashi.

Hinata sat at her usual desk between Shino and Kiba and started twiddling her thumbs while Kiba talked to Shino about his new cell phone.

"Wow, Hinata, this is a side of you I haven't seen!" Chouji said happily while he sat down at a desk in the row in front of her. Hinata nodded meekly and looked around to find most of her classmates already there."Ne, where're Naruto and Shikamaru, they're going to be late for class," Hinata wondered aloud. "Haven't seen them," Chouji answered with a frown, turning back around to where he was doodling on a piece of paper.

The door suddenly opened with a slam and everyone's conversations stopped to glare at the cause. At the doorway Naruto and Shikamaru were gasping for air, slowly trudging there way to their seats, ignoring the minute glares.

"Ne, alarm clocks are so troublesome..." Naruto muttered, still breathing a bit heavily. Shikamaru made an annoyed sound and weakly swatted at Naru's head as the sat beside each other. "Not as troublesome as you, baka." Naruto winced a little and pouted sadly. "Don't be mean, Shika. I said I was sorry, I was up all night doing some homework and writing fresh stuff."

"Ne, writing what kind of stuff?" Kiba butted in, looking interested at the blond. Naruto blushed slightly and waved his hands in a dismissive way. "Ne, no-nothing really. Just uh..." "Ideas for art class," Shikamaru answered looking completely serious.

"Ideas for art class?" Kiba looked doubtful, wondering why you would really need to write that kind of thing down, and why it would take long. "Y-yea! Yea. Ideas for art class. I was really, _really _inspired from our, uh, time at the arcade that I had a whole bunch of thoughts. Um, and I, you know, don't have such a good memory, so... um yea. I wrote down my ideas," Naruto said, trying to sound convincing.

Shino narrowed his eyes a bit in suspicion and Hinata felt the vibe too. "What kind of ideas did you have in mind," Shino asked with his smooth, calm voice. Naruto fidgetted a bit but quickly took up a serious mask. "I, don't like sharing my ideas, really... You know, um, an artist's work is a secret until it's, eh, revealed?" Shikamaru blinked and sighed at the pathetic way Naruto made to get out of it.

"Hey, um, wow, Hinata, don't you look nice. Who are you trying to impress?" Naruto suddenly asked, grinning a bit nervously. Hinata blushed again, while Kiba and Shino didn't look too satified, more suspicious from the change of topic. But they had to forget about that as the door slammed open with a loud crash and a screeching Shizune came in.

"Seriously, Kakashi-sensei, when will you learn to take your responsiblity as a educator more seriously? These kids..." Naruto thanked the Higher Beings for giving him this escape, as he turned back to his desk, away from his probing friends, and gather his things for the lesson. "You are so lucky," Shikamaru muttered quietly so only Naruto could hear.

Naruto nodded slightly and glared at him from the corner of his eye. "Yea, and who was the one who started this? Art ideas, pfft..." Shikamaru simply rolled his eyes and looked down at his text book, before long he was giving in to the urge to sleep. Naruto sighed as he looked over. "Lazy ass," he mumbled, a small smile on his lips.

xxxxx

"Can't say I really believe it, but neither did Ino, and she's the one who usually knows where all the rumors start and-" "Tenten, I believe this is history class, not social hour." Tenten looked up at where Kakashi sat reading his book, not even looking at her as he spoke.

Where as other students would of stopped and obeyed guilty, or others maybe with muttering under their breath, Tenten didn't back down. Lee looked up from his own notebook of answers. He found it sort of strange the way Tenten would act out most of all in History class. In others she would be respectful, yet a bit playful with the teacher.

In History she glared at Kakashi-sensei and seemed to always talk back. Like now. "Oh, sorry, did I miss some of your thought-provoking lectures? About the 18th century lifestyle?How important it is to learn about?" Her sarcasm rang through the classroom, giving way to a dead silence as most students stopped their work to stare between Tenten and their sensei.

Kakashi's eye looked up with a fleeting emotion and stared at her. "Detention." he said simply, turning a page. Tenten snorted loudly and turned to the girl beside her she'd been talking to before, closing her text and notebook without a look.

"Two detentions, Tenten-chan. Would you like to go on to a whole week of detention?" Tenten turned back to her desk, angrily frowning at it. "No, thank you, Kakashi," Tenten said disrespectingly before reopening her books. Kakashi gave a last glance, then went back to his book like nothing happened.

The class took the hint and went back to their work, but Lee kept staring at Tenten in confusion. She didn't seem to notice, or maybe was ignoring it. Lee finally stopped and looked over at Neji.

Their eyes made contact and Lee sent him a confused look shifting his eyes from Tenten back to him. He glanced at her himself for a few seconds before shrugging and writing down something that he discretely shifted closer to Lee.

Lee leaned down slightly, and read the message quickly._ 'She wasn't like that last year when we had him. It kind of started a week into the school year...'_ Neji ripped the paper quickly and stuffed it in his pocket, going back to work like he was doing it the whole time. Lee stared blankly at his text book before he decided that things aren't always meant to out in the open, knowing that himself through experience.

xxxxx

"Ne, Hinata, I see you're wearing that skirt I convinced you to buy. It sure was worth it, pretty princess!" Tenten exclaimed at lunch time. Hinata cheeks stained pink, a great improvement from earlier that morning. Lee chuckled and sat next to her like he usually did.

"Hinata-hime, I'm guessing this isn't a usual occurrence. Why the change?" Lee said, starting right away with his soda. Hinata sighed, blushing more at the nickname, and played with the helm of the skirt. "Hinata-hime has her eyes on someone. She's using her feminine advantages to hook 'im in," Naruto joked, giving her a good-natured grin.

Kiba looked, bewildered, over at the silent girl. "Really, Hinata? Who is it?" Ino nodded looking increasingly interested. "Yes, tell us, Hinata-chan. I could give you a few tips to charming the boy of your dreams," Ino offered with a smile and a wink.

Hinata looked like she was going to cry, she was so embarassed and flustered. Lee looked at her with pity and hugged her around the shoulders. "Come on guys, stop prestering the poor princess. Can't you see she really doesn't want you meadling?"

Hinata hid her face in Lee's shoulder and felt some relief from his standing up for her. Sakura nodded and frowned at the rest. "Yea, just let her be. If she wanted you to know she'd have already said something." The subject was dropped just like that and turned to Friday.

"So, what kind of things will we being doing, Tenten?" Ino asked curiously, picking at her salad. "Oh, you know. Games, music, maybe even a movie if we can agree on something." Tenten looked preoccupied with something, not that anyone really noticed.

"What kind of game would we play?" Naruto asked innocently, thinking of Monoply and Life, and how he always, _always_ managed to lose in those and other board games.

Ino and Sakura put on twin mischievious smiles and leaned in as if telling a secret. Unconsciously everyone leaned in too. "Oh, you know..." Ino started with a knowing toned. "The kind of games with..." Sakura continued.

"Kissing!" they said together, smiling dreamily. Naruto jerked back and tilted his head to the side. "Oh, those kinds of games! Like spin the bottle?" "And Seven Minutes In Heaven?" Kiba asked, getting quite interested. Sakura grinned and nodded.

"And truth or dare, definitely," Ino added. "Oh, I heard of this one group game I've been wanting to try out!" Sakura said suddenly with a happy smile. Ino looked interested. "Oh, what game?" Sakura furrowed her brow and looked thoughtful. "I think it was called 'I Never...' It's a drinking game-"

"Woh! No booze!" Naruto suddenly said waving his hands wildly. The others looked at him strangely. "What? A little acohol won't be bad..." Tenten said. "No, um, one of our friends that's coming. She can't be anywhere near booze. It... doesn't do her any good. No one else either," Naruto explained tone making it all clear that it was a dangerous thing.

Tenten nodded slightly and said it probably wouldn't be a good idea in case one them got smashed. Sakura nodded in agreement. "Well, we could still play the game with soda, at least. It's kind of a truth game. I think you say something like 'I never... whatever' and take a sip, and either anyone who hasn't or has takes a sip too. I forget which one..." Sakura frowned, rubbing her head, trying to remember. Tenten nodded. "We'll figure that out some other time. How about movies. Any suggestions?"

Movies were shouted and rejected one after an other, and by the time the lunch bell rang, they still hadn't decided.

xxx

"On this upcoming trip I want you all to express what you think is important. What you think the city is all about. What ever catched your eye. You'll need a sharp eye to impress me," Zabuza grunted at the end of photography class.

Naruto was practically bouncing in his seat in excitement. The first photo trip since their entree to Konoha High. They'd since only milled around campus, trying to catch something photo-worthy, which was mostly time for Naruto and Lee to talk. Lee had tried talking to Neji, but found that the brunette was too focused at the task at hand.

That time though, with Naruto and Lee talking just amongst themselves, formed a certain promise, a pact really. A secret pact that left them grinning at the end of the lesson.

xxxx

Shikamaru looked up at the dark clouds that were slowly drifting in from the east. "It looks like it'd going to rain," Shika murmured as they silently exited the building. Lee looked up too and frowned.

"Ne, Lee, could you do me a favor and recopy your notes from Science for me, since i missed part of it when i went to the office for Jiraiya-sensei?" Tenten asked, slapping a hand on Lee's shoulder. "Oh, Tenten, don't you have detention?" Tenten made a face and nodded. "How could i forget? So, will you do that for me?" Lee nodded and Tenten smiled before running off back inside.

"Ne, Neji!" Lee said, seeing him come out of the school after Tenten went back in. "Lee," Neji said monotone voice.

"Come to the arcade with us. We'll have fun!" Lee said enthusiastically. Neji frowned and shifted his eyes. "No, thanks. I-" "Have absolutely nothing to do this evening. Unlike me, Father wants me home tonight for to help him with a few things," Hinata said coming up behind them, uncharacteristically being assertive.

Hinata smiled shyly at Lee and tried ignoring Neji's stare. Lee was so kind, she felt the need to help him with gaining Neji's friendship more. He might of said they were friends, but Neji seemed to avoid talking to him alot. Neji sighed and crossed his arms.

"Just this once, Neji-kun?" Lee asked with a pleading look. Neji rolled his eyes and gave in. "Just this once..." Lee beamed and punched the air. Hinata looked down and noticed something. "Ne, Lee-kun, do you know who's wallet this is?" Hinata asked, picking up a nice black and purple checkered fabric wallet.

Lee looked at it and took it from her. "I think this is Tenten's. I guess I'll go give it back to her now. Neji, go wait with Naruto and Shikamaru, I'll be back in a second." "Hn."

Lee jogged slightly down the empty halls and stopped at the right door. He looked at it curiously, a bit perturbed from the complete silence.

He opened the door a crack to make sure he'd found the right room. He peeked in and his eyes widened and his grip on the wallet went slack and it fell. It echoed a bit in the emptiness, and Lee pulled away from the door and quickly ran down the hall.

Tenten opened the door completely, checking the empty halls and looking down at her lone wallet. "Shit," she cursed under her breath and looked back at Kakashi. He quirked an eyebrow, his mask completely off his face. "What's wrong?" Tenten shook her head and picked up her wallet, looking down the hall again. "Nothing, don't worry about it..."

"Lee? What's wrong, you look a bit shocked?" Naruto asked as Lee approached them. Lee shook his head and put on a smile. "No-nothing... so, no one else is coming?" Lee asked looking at the three in front of him. "They said they had tests to study for and other shit..." Naruto said slowly, looking at Lee strangely. "Yosh! alright, let's go then!" Lee said cheerfully and started leading them. Neji frowned at the raven haired boy and followed silently, knowing _some_thing was up.

xxxx

Neji aimed and SPLAT! Lee watched as Neji killed off all the zombies quickly and precisely. "Wow, you're really good at this game, Neji," Lee said in a dazed voice, completely hypnotized by it. In the background Naruto was cheering triumphantly as he won against Shikamaru in Street Fighters for the umpteenth time.

"Alright, guys, I'm closing up in five minutes," the arcade worker, Hayate, said between a few coughs. Naruto looked up at him in surprise and checked his watch. "It's only... 3:49! How can you be closing up so early!" Naruto yelled.

Hayate winced at his loudness and flipped a switch that cut off the power to all the games. "Easy. In case you haven't heard, there's a thunderstorm starting up soon, and what's the use of being open when the power goes out. Besides, you four are the only ones here. Now hurry up and get home. And It's actually 4:00 right now" Naruto fumed silently, grabbing his bag and pocketing his tokens."Hn, your watch keeps getting slower and slower, Naruto," Shikamaru commented absently, grabbing his own pack. "Whatever..."

xxxx

They started walking, thunder boomed in the distance and they all stared up at the sky. "Let's go to my house, it's the closest. You can call your Uncle from there, Neji." Lee said absently. Neji nodded and it wasn't even a minute before the rain started beating down heavily on them.

Lee started off at a sprint, and the others immediately did the same. By the time they finally got into his house they were all soaked and standing uncomfortably in the living room. "I'll go get us some dry clothes," Lee said rubbing his dripping hair.

He came back with a couple pairs of loose sweatpants, T-shirts and towels. They changed and Lee took their clothes to put in the dryer. "Do you guys want any hot drinks?" Lee asked from the laundry room.

"Hot chocolate!" Naruto shouted back at him, happily rubbing his hair with the fluffy blue towel. "Tea for me," Shikamaru said just a bit louder than his regular voice. Lee popped his head into the living room with his towel on his shoulders. "Neji? Want something?" Neji stared at his dripping hair and blinked. "Tea."

Lee nodded once and disappeared. The sound of the kettle cooking and opening cupboards came from the kitchen. In the meantime, Naruto had clicked on the television a flashy cartoon lighting up the screen.

Shikamaru snatched the remote from him and put it on the weather channel. "Hmm, looks like it'll blow over before tomorrow morning..." Shikamaru muttered, then flipped to the TV guide channel to see what was on. Lee came in carrying a tray of cut fruit and put it on the low coffee table in the center of the room. Lee sat next to Neji on the ground, leaning back into the couch where Naruto and Shika were sitting.

"Oh, Let's watch that movie," Lee and Naruto said at the same time. Shikamaru turned to that channel they made it just in time to see Oompa Loompas finish their song. Lee laughed softly and grabbed an apple slice. "This movie is so weird, but good." Naruto nodded in agreement, chewing on his orange slices.

Neji grabbed a banana slice and watched silently, slowly relaxing into his environment. Lee noticed and chuckled under his breath. When the kettle started shrieking, Lee got up and ran to the kitchen, turning it off and taking out the drink ingredients.

He came back a few minutes with an other tray with four steaming mugs. He set the tray down next to the fruit and handed them out. "If you want to call your Uncle the phone is in the kitchen. But the clothes won't be done for an other twenty minutes," Lee told Neji softly, watching the movie happily.

Neji nodded and put his mug down on the tray and got up. Naruto commented on the bratty girl, Bazooka or something, and Neji came back. "His driver will be here in a half hour." Neji said still watching the screen. Lee nodded and sipped his hot cocoa.

"Lee, what happened when you went to give back tenten's wallet?" Neji asked quietly so they could only hear. Lee glanced at him and bit his lip. "I-i don't think I should say..." Lee said slowly. Neji gave him a look and Lee pouted.

"I mean, I can't, not without talking to Tenten first... it's- it's a trust thing, I guess..." he said pathetically looking down at the mug in his hands. The steam wafted slowly and Lee looked back at Neji, who was looking at him.

Neji gave him a small nod and looked back at the TV. "Alright," Nejki said simply. Lee wondered about Neji. Neji was so closed up on himself, it was kind of frustrating. But then again, Lee mused, he wasn't all that honest himself with his Konoha High friends. Time. Time was the tool. Time would show them slowly the truth. He looked back down at his drink and frowned thoughtfully. Time was really getting on his nerves lately.

xxxx

Lee watched as Neji went to the car through the rain. His two other friends were still watching the movie silently. Naruto was yawning every five minutes, eyes trying to stay open. For once, Shikamaru wasn't the one falling asleep.

"So, you guys want to sleep over?" Lee asked them as he reentered the living room. Naruto nodded sleepily and let his eyes close. Shikamaru looked up at the wall clock and contemplated it. "Well, I guess if my mom starts yelling at me I could just hang up on her," Shikamaru said, getting up to call his parents about it.

Lee nodded and took the empty trays and mugs into the kitchen. He quickly cleaned them and went to the closet, taking out a few pillows and blankets. He threw one blanket on top of Naruto and handed Shikamaru one.

"What do you guys want for dinner?" Lee asked, now sitting in an arm chair. Shikamaru just shrugged and Naruto's answer was a soft snore. Lee smiled tiredly at his friends and looked back at the movie. Thoughts swirling in his mind, distracting him from the what was happening in the real world. Life wasn't getting any more simple for them.

xxxx

A/N: Ah! Omg, that has to be the worst chapter I've written so far. -sigh- Oh well, hopefully my muse for the next chappie will be nicer. I wonder if the Tenten thing is obvious? -shrugs- I feel so preoccupied for some reason. Damn my concentration! That got soaked thing actually happened to me on Saturday when me and my brother went for a walk around town. We got seriously soaked. ' my poor low chucks. wet socks is not a pleasant feeling, lol.

Anyway, Please Review, Loves!


	5. Five

A/N: In case you guys haven't noticed, I'm slowly going through what all of the characters are wearing. Yea. I have this thing about what they wear and I didn't want to write it all at once, cause that tends to clog the flow of the chapter. So yea... so pretty much once I explain a character's clothes that's pretty much what they wear for the rest of the story. Yep.

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to all my reviewers so far, because all their reviews really helped me and made me happy. Thanks guys!

**KitMiyu**

**ReiKai101**

**Shadow Eclipse**

**bunnykitsune**

**Inomuiro**

**Chou ni Natte**

**ninja sloth**

**iceprincess421**

**Failing Mentality**

**sweetclassic**

_Enjoy_

My Countdown Starts Here

xxxx

"Hey, Lee! Naruto, Shikamaru," Tenten said running up to them as they entered the school courtyard. "Eh... hey, Tenten," Lee said uncertainly. The other two nodded their greeting. "So did you do those notes for me?"

Lee blinked blankly. "You know for Science..." "Oh, oh! Yea, right, I did." Tenten smiled and patted his shoulder. "Thanks, Lee, you're a pal!" Lee smiled weakly and looked at his watch. "Oh, look at the time, we should go in before we're late!"

Tenten watched as he marched past, going into the building stiffly. "Ne, is there something wrong with Lee?" Tenten asked his two best friends. Shikamaru shrugged and Naruto scratched his head. "No, he was just acting normal until you came over..." Tenten looked back to where he'd gone and frowned thoughtfully.

"Ok... um, yea, he's right, let's go in," she said finally, feeling a bit uneasy.

xxxx

All during Literature Tenten tried talking to Lee, which ended up with nothing more than a few awkward answers.

During Science she'd tried to get him to help her with one of the questions. He merely explained it to her and went back to his own work.

In History class it wasn't that much better. He kept shooting uncertain glances at her and then at Kakashi and couldn't help fidgeting slightly. Everytime Tenten turned to him to ask him what was wrong he just turned and went scribbling stuff into his notebook.

In Math class Tenten finally asked Neji if he knew. He merely told her that it was a matter between her and Lee, and went back to work with a warning glance from Asuma.

By the end of Math class, Tenten decided that she might just know what was up and had to talk to her round eyed friend privately after classes.

She would have attempted it at lunch if weren't for them all eating inside, on account of it still being soggy outside from yesterday's storm. They combined two tables so that they could all sit together, except Tenten's problem was Lee was sitting all the way on the other side of the enlonged table.

"Ok, now I'm kinda getting annoyed," Tenten muttered, putting down her sandwich and glaring at it hatefully. "Whatcha say, Ten-chan?" Ino asked from next to her. "Nothing," Tenten said boredly, slumping against the table.

xxxx

"Wait up, Lee!" Tenten called. Tenten caught her breath for a second and tugged at Lee's sleeve. "I need to talk to you," she said in a hush-hush voice. Lee looked at his friends and told them to wait up for him as she dragged them way a few feet.

"Listen. I'm guessing from the awkwardness of all day between us that you were the one who... er... saw yesterday." Lee nodded, looking at his feet as he shifted from one to the other. "Well, listen, I just want to tell you that everything will be explained at my house tonight. I'm going to tell everyone, so, I hope this weird cloud will lift up. You're my friend, Lee, I like hanging out with you and all," Tenten said slowly, looking Lee in the eye.

Lee smiled and was glad she was going to be honest. "Alright, Tenten, I was just kind of... confused. And I didn't tell anyone, in case you were wondering." Tenten smiled back and gave him a quick hug. "You're a good friend, Lee. And thanks for getting my wallet for me. Now I have a detention to go to..." Lee gave her a look and they both burst out laughing. "See ya tonight!" Tenten shouted, running back to the school grounds.

Lee walked back to his friends with a smile and felt a bit better. Now that that was out of the way, Lee could finally start to accept what he saw. Come to think of it, it wasn't really a big deal anyway...

xxxxx

It didn't take them that long to get to the Sabaku house and Gaara answered the door. He looked at them and raised an... um, eyebrow? "You're...early..." Naruto nodded happily walking past Gaara into the house. "Awesome new pants, Gaara," Naruto commented, looking him up and down.

The red head was wearing a pair of baggy pants with many pockets and chains hanging off it. His leather belt was studded and he had on a plain crimson T shirt over long sleeved fishnets. On his wrists he wore a shitload of red and black jelly bracelets. Doc Martins with red laces were his current and favorite footwear. Temari peaked over at them from over the lazy boy.

"Yea, I took him shopping today after lessons. I thought since this is the first time in _years _he's been around other people he should look nice," Temari said sarcastically, looking her brother over. Lee grinned at the silent boy and patted him on the back.

"You look nice, Gaara-kun. I'm sure you'll have fun tonight," Lee said in his enthusiastic voice. Gaara grinned slightly at him, and walked into the living room, jumping onto the couch. "Hn, you're not early anymore..."

Shikamaru looked at the digital clock on the coffee table and swore under his breath. "Ne, Kankuro should really give up on his time fixation. With you guys he'll always be disappointed." Temari said, not taking her eyes off the TV.

Naruto growled. "No, that's not fair! We _were_ early!" Temari grinned at him sadistically. "And you stopped to talk to us, which made you late. Life's unfair kid." Naruto pouted and made his way to the basement. Shikamaru followed.

"Ne, Temari-chan, tell us when it's 6:00, ok? We have to be at Tenten's around 6:15." Temari nodded and waved him off, her eyes on the television. "Ouch," she hissed under her breath. "That's gotta hurt..." Ninja shows were so fun to watch. _'Ha, ha. Violence.. 3.'_

xxxx

Kankuro glared with his drum sticks in his hand. "You drive yourself crazy over time, Kankuro, you might as well just give up on it," Shikamaru reasoned, picking up his lime green bass and plucking a few chords.

Lee switched on the microphones and amps, fliddling with them before picking up his own red and white electric guitar. "Ah, Black Bane, time for some quality time with your family," Naruto said affectionately, picking up his black and white guitar from its stand. Kankuro rolled his eyes at Naruto's weirdness.

"Before you start, I gotta know. Your friends aren't snobs or anything, right?" Kankuro asked leaning on his drum set. Lee frowned, playing a few strings experimentally. "No, they're all really nice people." "Except, Sasuke-teme," Naruto said as he tuned Bane.

"And Ino is a bit... troublesome. She's such a big mouthed woman. Reminds me of my mom..." Shikamaru said as he warmed up. "Ne, Sasuke's mostly quiet, and Ino is nice, just... outspoken..." Lee said, readjusting the mic again.

Kankuro nodded, lightly tapping one stick against the bass drum. "Alright, as long as none of them starts something... Now want to start off with Underfire? Or maybe that new song?" "Do we have a name for that yet?" Naruto asked strumming all six strings at once.

Lee grunted. "Nah, you know how I am with names... Let's start with something a little slower then Underfire..." Lee answered, shifting in front of the mic.

"How 'bout Set Phasers To Stun, or maybe A Decade Under The Influence?" Shikamaru put in. Lee nodded and Naruto just adjusted his guitar strap.

"Ok, Phasers it is," Kankuro said, already starting to take position. Naruto immediately started up, Lee following with him._ "Say yes, say yes, say yes, say yes...I'm sorry it took me so long, I'm sorry it took me so long"_

xxxx

Naruto rang the doorbell, resisting the urge to do it again. "Oh, hi! You're right on time!" Tenten said, opening the door to let them in. Temari entered first, smiling as she saw the younger teens in the living room.

She quickly took off her tight dark hoodie and threw it on a chair. Lee came in next and stared at her lime green tank top. It had a white time bomb with the fuse lit with CDD in yellow on the bomb. "Temari, what are you wearing?" Shikamaru said, eying her with a cocked eyebrow.

Besides her eye catching tank, she was wearing boy cut jean shorts, fish net knee highs, checkered black and white Vans and many long chain-link necklaces. Her hair was short, short enough for little kids with their mothers in the mall would call her a boy, much to her annoyance. Though in reality it really didn't even make her look boyish, pretty sexy actually. It was layered and had two green streaks in her sweeping bangs. The hair was a little longer around her ears and she was wearing a tan headband today.

Lee stared at Temari in disbelief and blushed when he realized that everyone was already there and watching. "Hey, what does CCD stand for?" Kiba asked from his spot on the floor next to Shino. Temari grinned mischieviously and gave Lee a wink. Kankuro rolled his eyes, tapping his brown Vans clad foot. Gaara just stood stiffly next to Lee staring around the room.

"It stands for CountDown to Disaster. They're a relatively new local band. They're pretty good," Temari answered sweetly. Kiba looked unimpressed and grabbed at the bag of chips on the piano bench near by. "Oh."

Sakura looked thoughtful and Ino frowned. "Funny, I haven't heard of them before..." she commented tapping her chin. Kankuro looked at her impatiently. "Like she said, they're relatively new. They've only ever played in public a few times with their own music. Lee, are you gonna introduce us or not?" Lee flushed and waved his hands.

"Oh, sorry. Guys these are our close friends. They're all siblings. The oldest is Temari," when he pointed at her she smirked and waved. "Gaara is the youngest," The red head just stared. "And Kankuro is the middle child. We actually went to school with Kankuro at NAMA. We once all had a project together and went over his house and ever since we've been great friends!" Kankuro grinned slightly and crossed his arms.

He was wearing a grey wifebeater that showed his many tatoos that decorated his arms. The tatoos all ran into each other to make it look rather solid, instead of the many different things it was. His jeans were dark and baggy,ripped in a few places, and held up with a black leather belt. His wrists had heavy leather cuffs on it, and the only other accessory was a shark tooth necklace, like something a surfer would wear. His hair was thick and messy, bangs often getting in his eyes.

"Kankuro, Temari, Gaara, meet my friends. That's Sakura," He started pointing them out one by one. "Ino, Sasuke, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Chouji, Neji, and Tenten." Tenten smiled friendily at them and motioned for them to sit.

Gaara ended up sitting next to Sakura and she gave him a pretty smile that he just blinked at. Temari looked happily around and started analyzing them all. Kankuro started unconsciously tapping a beat into the carpet and Naruto watched him in amusement.

Tenten took a deep breath and stood up in front of them. She looked nervous and she immediately had their full attention.

"Alright, the moment of truth. I've been wondering if I should tell you guys, but I decided after an, um," she glanced at Lee, who smiled at her encouragingly, "incident on Thursday that I should. I just hope you guys don't... you know, make a big deal out of it..."

She took an other deep breath and looked determinely around the room at the clueless group. "I've been... sorta, _seeing_ Kakashi..." she said, uncertain at how she broke it to them. They all stared at her increduously. Except for Lee and the Sabaku sibs.

Kiba was the first to break through his shock. "Kakashi-_sensei_!" he said in a high pitched voice. Tenten nodded solemnly, and Kiba looked confused. Hinata reached over and grabbed his arm. They shared a look, and Kiba seemed to relax. "How old is he anyway?" Naruto asked curiously. Tenten blushed. "He's only six years older. 22..."

Temari looked at the bun girl and grinned. "Alright! I'm pretty impressed! Seducing a teacher. Nice!" she said, looking very serious. Tenten grinned and laughed slightly. "Thanks." Naruto 's face lit up and he grinned."So you've seen him without his mask on?"

The Konoha crew leaned in. "What's he hiding?" Naruto whispered loudly. Tenten laughed and waved them off. "Nothing but a seriously gorgeous face. Those rumors of buck teeth and fat lips were totally off!" Her laughing increased and she was on her back laughing hysterically. Kankuro looked at her like she was crazy.

"So...so," Tenten tried talking as she calmed down. "What do you guys think?" she looked serious again and everyone looked thoughtful. "Well... if he ever tries to do anything you don't want, I'll help beat him up!" Ino said evilly, feeling protective of her friend. Sakura nodded too, looking equally as evil.

_'The wrath of a group of women... Kakashi wouldn't have a chance...' _Shikamaru thought watching the two girl mentally picturing the potential torture of their History teacher. Tenten chuckled. "Alright, I'll remember that!" Kiba grunted and she turned to him. "I'm fine with it. Love is... love..." Shino and Hinata nodded with him.

Neji and Sasuke just 'hned' in responce to her questioning gaze. Naruto shrugged and looked bored, and Shikamaru stared back lazily. "As long as you're happy, Ten-chan," Lee said with a smile. Tenten smiled, feeling a great weight coming off her chest.

"Oh, wow, that's a relief. I guess I was just thinking of the worst class scenrio after all." She let out a big breath. Naruto looked at her curiously. "Like what?" Tenten sweat dropped and flushed. "Well, at first the image of pitchforks and torches came to mind..." A second to imagined the scene came before the room bursted out laughing.

Lee looked around, feeling really happy and comfortable being surrounded by his friends. "Ne, do you think that since Ten-chan gave us one of her secrets, maybe we should give one of our own to make it even?" Lee asked, always being the fair one. Naruto nodded happily and the others followed suit in agreement.

"Hmm, since you suggested it, why don't you start," Temari said playfully, grinning as him in mischief. Everyone began to stare at Lee and he started to flush at the attention. "Ummm, o-ok..." he looked thoughtful for a few moments, seeing the glance Naruto sent him, winking quickly to reassure him. "Um, ok... well..." Lee froze and tuned cherry red.

"Go on..." Tenten said quietly in a coaxing voice. Lee swallowed and nodded slightly. "Ok, I'm... bi..." Lee held his breath and bit his lip, waiting for their reaction. Kiba looked at him questioningly. "Ne, how can you tell if you're bi or gay?" he asked, earning a jab in the side by Hinata.

She gave him a disapproving look and turned to Lee with an accepting smile. Lee turned pink and scratched the back of his neck trying to come up with an answer. "Because," Temari spoke out in a bored tone. "He used to go out with me." Everyone blinked and Kiba looked beyond shocked.

"You," he pointed at Lee, "Used to go out with _her_?" he pointed at Temari, blushing slightly as she looked at him with a slight frown. Lee looked uncertain. "Yea... we actually only broke up a few weeks ago..." Sasuke smirked from where he was sitting on the ground. "Broke up or got dumped?" he said arrogantly. Temari glared at him. _'And to think I thought he was hot... Crappy personality... He's not getting anyone anytime soon...' _

"Broke up, as in the idea was mutual." Temari answered before Lee could, giving the Uchiha a dirty look. Temari leaned over and hugged Lee's head to her chest. "He was quite the catch actually," she said with a smirk, rubbing her cheek against his soft hair. Lee blushed.

Naruto waved his arms and looked at them in irritatiom. "Okay, _my_ turn!" Naruto grinned slightly at the attention before continuing. "Okay, one, I am also bi, yes, I'm sure. And two," he grabbed Shika's arm and hugged it happily, loving the stunned silence. "I'm with Shika." Their was a silence.

"I knew you couldn't be completely straight, but I'm actually a little surprised about Shikamaru..." Ino muttered. Naruto pouted and mock glared at herl "Well, actually, what with his 'troublesome women...' crap since childhood, it does make a bit of sense..." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and made Naruto let go of his arm.

One look from the blond and Shikamaru sighed, dragging the smaller one into his lap. "Aw, how cute!" the girls, excluding the shyly blushing Hinata, cooed all together. The boys rolled their eyes at the girls' reaction.

"You next, Shikamaru," Kiba said, elbow to knee, cheek to palm. Shikamaru shifted slightly and glared from where his head sat ontop of Naru's. "I think Naruto already gave away two of my secrets to you guys."

Sasuke glared and crossed his arms. "We're all doing this. Now cough up a damn secret, Nara." Shikamaru matched his glare and didn't back down. Sakura looked nervously between them, waving her hands. "Ne, ne, I think Shikamaru has a point. That would be three secrets out. I mean that doesn't seem so fair..." Sasuke grunted and looked away with a scowl.

The secrets after that were much less interesting, most being actually pretty obvious and/or boring. After that they decided to play truth or dare. The game was pretty quick, ending abruptly when Ino refused Naruto's dare of eating cold ramen while making fake farting sounds.

"You're still just as immature after all these year, Naruto!" Ino yelled angrily, her arms crossed over her chest in annoyance. Naruto simply sat in Shika's lap, trying hard to cover up his laughter behind his hands. Ino huffed and yelled for spin the bottle. "That's a game I don't mind doing," Ino muttered under her breath, looking at Sasuke's stoic figure.

Tenten came back from the kitchen with an empty ketchup bottle and set it in the middle of the circle they'd formed. "Who wants to go first?" Tenten asked, looking around at everyone. Sakura looked around the circle at the unresponsive faces and sighed, slowly raising her hand. Tenten grinned and gestured at the bottle.

Sakura spinned the bottle, holding her breath as it slowed down. Slowly it past Sasuke, much to her disappointment, and landed on the yawning Kankuro. When she stared up at him he looked down and raised an eyebrow. "Ten seconds at the very least," Tenten said happily, giggling as Sakura leaned over shyly with her eyes closed.

Kankuro rolled his eyes and leaned in giving just a little pressure. Ino started the counting and soon everyone was counting along loudly, laughter in their voices. "Ten!" Sakura quickly jerked back and scratched her nose like nothing had happened.

Kankuro grunted and spinned the bottle rather harshly. It spinned rapidly and finally stopped, pointing at his older sister. Kankuro winced and Temari's eye twitch. Kankuro sighed and they both met half way, both jerking back before the word ten escaped everyone's mouth. Kankuro quickly glared at the bottle, wiping his lips roughly.

Temari's spin was more controlled and it stopped shortly. Landing on her cheerful ex-boyfriend. Lee stared at it and blinked slowly. He looked up to see a smirking Temari leaning in very close. He blushed slightly and met her lips softly. Temari smiled into the kiss and pulled back slowly when the time was up. "Brings back memories," she said cheerfully, sitting back in her spot, crossing her legs to get more comfortable.

Lee smiled at her warmly and spinned the bottle. He watched it spin round and round, almost hypnotic in a way. When it finally stopped it took a second for him to comprehend and was surprised when a sudden pair of lips were on his. He blushed in embarassment and blinked his eyes closed. When ten seconds were up Lee blinked dazedly.

He looked across from him and saw Neji spin the bottle blankly. It landed on Naruto, who was forced off Shika's lap, for the sake of not getting confused during the game. Both boys leaned in emotionlessly, feeling no embarassment or shyness, not taking it seriously at all.

What happened next was an upset. Naruto glared at the bottle and squinted. "Um, it's more shifted toward Shino! Come on Shino..." He started leaning toward Shino, but Temari's hand pushed him back.

"It's clearly pointing at Sasuke-san. Don't be a big baby, Naru-chan" Temari said mockingly. Naruto growled and glared at her hatefully. "I'm NOT kissing that bastard!" Sasuke sneered and laughed coldly at him. "What's wrong, baka, are you scared at 'Big Bad' Sasuke?"

"Urusai, Teme! I'm not afraid, I just hate you too much to lower myself to kissing you for the sake of some stupid game!" Sasuke just rolled his eyes and grabbed a fistful of the blond's shirt, making him fall onto his lips. It happened only a second before Naruto pushed him harshly and sent him a glare full of some serious killer intent.

Tenten looked between them and became very nervous. "Your turn, Sasuke," Lee quickly said, handing him the bottle, trying to break the tense cloud. Naruto huffed, turning away, and put his forehead on Shikamaru's shoulder. "Hn," Sasuke, um, said? as he spinned the bottle.

It settled on Hinata, who blushed and sighed. That kiss was quick and simple. Hinata nervously touched the bottle a moment hesitantly before spinning it weakly. It spun just once before slowing and stopping on Shikamaru. Hinata looked disappointed, giving a quick glance to Kiba, and leaned over to the lazy Shikamaru.

Shikamaru's spin didn't even go around once before stopping on Chouji. Shikamaru blinked lazily, and leaned in. With much surprise, Chouji's spin landed on Ino, who looked a cross between upset and fake happy, just so she didnt hurt Chouji's feelings.

It wasn't even that he was really... chubby anymore, he was pretty much average now. He was actually kind of cute with his messy, thick light brown hair. He didn't actually dress bad either. Just a lime green T shirt over a black long sleeved shirt and Khaki pants. Pretty simple and clean. It was just, Ino always had him down as a brother since childhood.

For the sake of the game she leaned in, recieving a kiss that was kinda awkward, like getting a kiss from your real brother. Probably alot like the kiss Temari and Kankuro had. Ino sighed and spun the bottle, crossing her fingers for Sasuke.

Unforunately for her today was just not her day. It landed on Hinata and Ino sighed, seeing her chance for her kiss from Sasuke slim down even more. Hinata spun the bottle, landing on Kiba this time. Kiba smiled slightly at her, turning a rare light pink and scratching his nose.

Hinata smiled at him and leaned into him for the kiss. Kiba smiled dumbly when the kiss ended and spinned the bottle absently. Much to Kiba's horror and the two older Sabakus' amusement you could guess who it pointed at.

The red head looked annoyed, while Kiba had a half defeated, half disdainful expression on his face. The kiss lasted less than ten seconds, but Gaara glared at Tenten when she started to protest, sufficiently shutting her up.

Gaara flicked the bottle with his finger and it shifted only slightly to point at Sakura. Sakura sighed and looked him over. Kind of cute, in a...dark kind of way. Darker and more dramatic than Sasuke in her opinion.

Sakura blushed into the kiss and pulled away timidly, grabbing the bottle without looking at the other. She spinned it and it landed on Shino, she leaned in tiredly, already over this game. Shino's spin resulted with a kiss from Temari.

A nice little kiss, Temari told herself mentally as she spinned the bottle, smiling at the silent, mysterious boy. It landed on Naruto, which earned a gagging sound from the blond boy, which she muffled with her lips. Naruto's spin landed on Tenten, and that was decidedly the last of Spin the Bottle.

"So what would you guys rather have, Chinese or pizza?" Tenten asked picking up the phone from the kitchen. Five calls of Chinese and seven of pizza came back to her. "Okay, how about three medium pizzas and you can tell me what Chinese you want," Tenten called back, already dialing the number for pizza.

"I want mushroom pizza," Ino called out loudly. "How about meatlovers!" Chouji's voice followed. Tenten looked back into room, the phone pressed against her chest. "Any other requests?" she asked. The others shook their heads and Tenten went back to talking to the pizza person on the phone.

"Yes, three mediums, one mushroom, one meatlovers and one plain. Thanks. Bye." Tenten hung up, turning to her friends. "So how about you write down your orders for Chinese and I'll call once you're done.Now, how about a movie?"

Naruto looked up and tilted his head in confusion. "I thought we couldn't agree on one." Tenten nodded and took out two dvd cases. "Yea, so I decided for you guys. So which one first, Bench Warmers or The Ringer?" Kiba perked up, hearing the choices and looked contemplative. The others just said whichever, not really caring at the moment.

By the time all the food got there they were well into the first movie, The Ringer. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the movie and eating contently. Lee was curled up on the couch, squished next to Gaara, Naruto and Shikamaru. On the two arm chairs were Kiba and Shino. Temari relaxed happily on the lazy boy. Hinata and Tenten sat together on the piano bench. Neji, Kankuro and Sakura sat leaning against the couch. Ino, Sasuke and Chouji sat on the floor next to the coffee table of food.

By the middle of The Bench Warmers everyone was done eating and were sipping drinks.

As the credits rolled for The Bench Warmers, Sakura suddenly giggled. She was turned around looking at the boys on the couch. Temari looked over and smiled. "What's up?" Kiba asked looking at the four on the couch.

"Lee-kun is asleep," Sakura said in a hushed voice, looking warmly at the raven haired boy. Temari smiled in the same matter at Lee before looking down at Sakura. From her red Chinese-style top and fake pink pearl necklace, white fingerless elbow length gloves and pink power beads, and faded jean skirt to her pink low chucks.

Temari scowled as she noted the short, shiny pink hair. "Don't even think about it, pinkie," Temari said seriously, frowning as the pink head looked offended. "Excuse me?" she said with a bit of anger in her voice. Temari leaned back into the lazy boy and relaxed a bit.

"You don't have a chance with Lee. You're not his type." Sakura narrowed her eyes and bit her tongue. "Not his type? Yea, so what _is_ his type?" The others were getting interested now. Kankuro groaned and gave the girl an exasperated look. "Oh, god, here it goes. The self-acclaimed, Rock Lee expert."

Sakura snickered at the title and Temari simply grinned. "As a matter of fact. His type is not you. I mean you seem like a really nice girl. Sweet, innocent, and playful. Really nice qualities for someone else's girlfriend." Temari paused to look at Lee. "Isn't he cute. He looks just like a kitten when he's asleep..." Gaara looked down at his shoulder where Lee's head had fallen when he'd drifted to sleep. "Lee... feline..."

"So, what _are_ the qualities for Lee's dream girl or boy?" Sakura asked curiously, her anger barely there anymore, replaced with curiousity. Temari's sharp eyes snapped back to her.

"He needs someone... well first of all, he likes to be the one dragging the other around, not the other way around. See you seem the type who would do that. It would conflict. And besides that he doesn't want to be worn on the shoulder like some accessory. He doesn't want to be a trophy.

He doesn't really know _all_ of this, but I know him well enough to see the truth... Sometimes others can see something about you that you don't..." Temari sipped at her soda, enjoying the interested attention she was getting from all of them, besides her brothers, Naruto and Shikamaru, that is...

"Anyway, his type is pretty independent, and despite everything, that person tends to sometimes hurt him," Temari looked a bit sad but smiled, "Lee's forgiving to a point. He unconsciously picks the ones that need him the most. The one who needs him to bring a bit of color and cheer to their lives. He's destined to fall in love with a cynical, cold person, who needs him to soften them and make them smile."

Temari sighed dramatically and looked at Lee affectionately. "Hopefully he'll be able to do that in time before that cold bastard breaks in his heart." She stopped there, letting them all take in her explanation, inwardly patting her back at her skill of attention grabbing and keeping. What can she say, it's an art!

"Mmm," Lee suddenly mumbled in his sleep, shifting into the sofa cushions. He was dreamily smiling. "You have... such a beautiful smile..." he muttered softly. Temari cracked a smile and repressed the urge to squeal at his cuteness.

"Besides," Temari finally spoke up again, launching herself at Lee, effectively waking him. "I'm rooting for him getting a boyfriend soon. Ever see two sexy guys make out? _Hot_." Temari said with a giggle reserved for use of only yaoi fangirls.

Sakura sweat dropped and turned to the others. Ino was blushing as she stared out into space and Hinata was blushing darkly looking down at her fidgetting hands. Lee blinked and groaned groggily, confused by the weight on him "Huh?"

Tenten leaned over and grinned. "Aw! Isn't he so cute when he wakes up?" she said teasingly and Lee flushed, trying to stand up, but failing. "Morning, sunshine," Temari chirped uncharacteristically, weirding Lee out just a bit.

"W-what did I miss?" he asked nervously. Kiba smirked and waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, nothing really. Just a quick lesson on the _mysterious_ Rock Lee..." Lee blinked and stared at him blankly. "Huh?" Kankuro snorted and rolled his eyes. "Temari decided to educate all your friends in what type of person you like and that shit." "Oh." Lee coughed and looked around at everyone. "So..."

"Let's play that drinking game Sakura mentioned," Tenten said, rescuing him from more embarassment Lee was sure. Temari's eyes lit up and she let go of Lee to turn to the brunette. "Sorry, no alcohol. Just soda." Temari pouted and retreated to her recliner. "Where's the fun in that then..."

Everyone ignored her and started forming a circle, which she joined shortly, abet reluctantly. Tenten came back with three _huge _bottles of different sodas. When I say huge, I really mean it. "Orange, grape and root beer," Tenten said happily before plopping down on her spot.

"Alright," Tenten began. "We're playing 'I've Never...', what you do is say "I've never -blank-", and whoever _has_ done it takes a sip of the soda. We'll go around the circle. I'll start. I've never been on a diet." Ino, Sakura, Temari and Chouji took a sip.

"I've never giggled like a girl," Shino said deadpan. All the grils, Kiba, Sasuke and Naruto all took sip. The boys just glared at the stares. "At least we're man enough to admit it!" Kiba said loudly, before going next. "I've never worn a bra."

All the girls and Gaara took a sip. Gaara glared and Temari looked triumphant. "Sisters are evil..." he muttered as explanation. Kiba nodded knowingly and looked sympathetic. "An evil straight from hell!" the dog lover said passionately.

"I've never gone skinny dipping," Hinata said, instantly blushing. Sakura, Ino, Temari, Naruto and Lee took a sip.

Kankuro looked thoughtful, as it was his turn. "I've never... been stood up on a date." Sakura, Temari, Lee, and Chouji took a sip bitterly. Sakura smiled happily and hummed thoughtfully. "I've never...Um...I've never gotten _the talk_ from my parents."

Neji, Hinata, Chouji, Ino Shino, Kiba, and Shikamaru all took a long sip. "I've never liked sweets," Sasuke in a monotone voice. Everyone look a sip.

"I've never kissed a teacher," Ino said. Tenten, Kankuro, Temari and Lee took a sip. Everyone stared at Lee who blushed under the scrutiny. "You've kiss a teacher and never told us!" Naruto asked in shock.

Lee looked down and tried to explain himself. "Er...yea, I never really thought-" "Who was it?" Naruto cut him off. Lee scratched the back of his head and sweat dropped. "Kimimaro-sensei..."

Naruto's eyes widened, while Kankuro and Shikamaru smirked. "Wait, wait wait!" Naruto waved his arms franticly almost hitting Shikamaru. "When and where was this!" Lee sighed and looked tired. "After class one day when I was thirteen. He asked me to stay after class and it sorta just... happened. I mean I didn't even realize it right away. Afterwards he apologized and it was sorta just forgotten..." Lee said looking like he wanted to move on.

"Hmm, your first kiss?" Temari guessed correctly with a light blush as her answer.Lee nodded slightly and looked sheepish. "After that I kinda thought about... like, my preferences... so maybe it was kind of a good thing..." "Besides the fact that Kimimaro-sensei was pretty hot?" Naruto asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Lee punched Naruto lightly in the shoulder and turned to Temari. "Your turn Tema-chan!" Temari grunted and became serious. "Surprisingly enough, I've never shoplifted." Kankuro, Naruto, Neji, Chouji and a sheepish Sakura took a sip. "It was only once!" Sakura said defensively.

"I've never gotten anything pierced," Lee said with a smile. All the girls, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, and Gaara sipped. The orange and grape soda were already almost gone. Kiba flinched. "My sister once decided to try piercing my ear when I was eight..." He shivered at the memory.

"I've never eaten less than three bowls of ramen at a meal," Naruto said happily. Everyone but Chouji took a sip. "I've never kept completely awake through any of my History classes..." Shikamaru said in his lazy drawl. Everyone else took a sip.

"I've never.. fallen asleep in the last six months," guess who said quietly. Everyone excluding the ones who knew him stared in shock before slowly sipping the soda. Shikamaru patted his back slightly and everyone seemed to wait for an explanation.

Temari leaned over and patted her brother's head affectionately. Gaara only seems to get irritated from the patting of any part of his body. "Six monthes ago he had a serious surgery. The medication he takes gives him insomnia and he has an additional medication to keep him functioning right despite the sleep deprivation, since sleeping pills would mess with the medication he has for after the surgery," Temari explained in a kind voice, one she rarely used.

Everyone looked a bit pitying and that just ticked Gaara off. Lee gave him a small smile and he calmed a bit. Sakura looked at him in concern and felt sad for him rather than pity. "What kind of surgery was it?" she asked quietly, knowing a bit because her parents were doctors.

"They had to remove a small tumor from my brain that could of gotten dangerous over time. It gave me a second personality with...disturbing thoughts..." "Shukaku..." Lee mumbled softly and sadly. Neji blinked and decided it was time for his turn. "I've never... gotten drunk before," he said stoicly.

Tenten, Kiba, Ino, Temari, Lee and Shikamaru took a sip. "You're worse than me when you're drunk, Tema-chan," Lee said teasingly, though truthfully. Temari grinned and downed a bit more soda than neccessary. She hiccuped and they both laughed.

"I've never been to a concert." Chouji said. Kankuro and Naruto looked bewildered. "What, how could you not! Concerts are the one thing better than ramen!" Naruto said very surprised and serious. Chouji shrugged and Naruto put on a firm expression.

"Next time we go to one, I'm dragging you along, even if I have to kidnap you." Chouji smiled in amusement at his hyper friend. "Sure." Everyone but Sakura and Sasuke took a sip. "You too Sakura-chan." Naruto said happily to the pink one, then glared over at Sasuke. "But not you, teme!" Sasuke 'hn'ed.

Tenten looked at the last bottle with soda left, then around the circle. Some of them were holding their stomachs from too much soda-consumption, while some, like Naruto and Lee, only seemed more hyper, and then there were the unaffected, Temari, Sasuke, Shino and Neji.

"Okay, looks like we only have a few rounds left." Tenten said, unaffected herself. "I've never gone without showering for more then two days." Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Kankuro and Chouji took a sip. Ino wrinkled her nose and laughed.

Kiba glared and the soda ran down his chin. "Oh, Kiba-kun!" Hinata said softly, taking out her pure white handkerchief from her tan purse. He turned a bit red and smiled in embarassment as she cleaned him up. She smiled shyly and Temari 'aw'ed at the cuteness.

"I've never cross dressed." Shino said. Naruto, Gaara and a blushing Lee took a sip. "Sister..." Gaara muttered. "Temari..." Lee muttered. Naruto grinned foxily. "Prank!" he said proudly. Kiba snickered at the three and was finally feeling the sugar kick in.

"Alright! I've never...gone out with a boy!" Ino, Temari, Sakura, Naruto and Shikamaru took the last of all the soda. "Lee, you've never...?" Ino asked looking at him curiously through her bangs. Lee blushed and sighed. "I've only ever gone out with girls..." "Oh," Ino said shrugging a bit and rubbed her stomach.

Hinata looked at the the bottle that was almost empty and sighed. "I've never dyed my hair." Temari, Kankuro, and a hesitant Sakura took a sip. Ino snicker at her pink friend, who scowled at her heatedly.

"Ok, game's done," Tenten said standing up shakily to her feet. "My legs are asleep," Naruto said trying to stand up too. Shikamaru helped him up and they sat back on the couch. "I don't feel so good," Sakura muttered rubbing her stomach lightly. "Come on, I'll get you some medicine from the kitchen," Tenten said, gesturing for her to follow.

Kiba rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Man, I'm spent. Thank God for the weekend, huh?" Kiba said, helping Hinata up. Hinata nodded happily and they sat down together on the piano bench. Lee checked his watch. "Quarter after twelve." Lee said aloud for everyone to hear.

"Great, one step into my house and I'll have to deal with the screaming banshee," Shikamaru said full of dread, referring to his mother. Naruto looked at Shika and patted him on the back. "Just call up now and say you're staying the night at my house." Shikamaru nodded, getting up to ask to use the phone.

Everyone else were pulling out cell phones to call home. Everyone but Lee, Naruto and the Sabaku sibs. Temari yawned and leaned back into the lazy boy. "I bet dad's at the bar again, no use calling home..." Kankuro nodded and grabbed some chips off the table. Lee yawned and looked ready to fall asleep on his feet. "Naruto, your house is closer, I'm staying over for the night, k?" Lee said sleepily.

Naruto nodded and leaned his head sleepily on Lee's shoulder. The three Sabakus stood up and went towards the door. "Ok, so we're off. Nice meeting you guys," Temari said as she opened the door. Gaara waved and Kankuro gave them all smirk. The door closed and Lee spoke up.

"Hmm, I think they like you guys," he said tiredly. "Really, could have fooled me," Ino said from where she'd taken Temari's seat. Lee looked at her and smiled sleepily. "They're not very open people. But I can see it. " Ino nodded and looked thoughtfully at the door. "That Kankuro was actually kinda cute..." Lee laughed and she blushed slightly. "I can actually see that happening..." Lee said softly, slowly closing his eyes.

"Kay, ready to go?" Shikamaru said, reentering the door with Tenten and Sakura. "Oh, your friends left already? I wished they'd of said good bye at least. That Temari chick was pretty cool," Tenten said with a laugh and picked up Temari's hoodie from where is was forgotten. "Temari forgot this, can you give it back to her next time you see her?" Tenten asked, handing it to Lee.

Lee nodded and slung it over his shoulder. "Sure, I'll be seeing her tomorrow anyway..." Tenten saw them to the door, like the perfect hostess, and waved at them as they escaped her view.

xxxxx

"So, that was fun!" Naruto said happily, more awake from the cold, night air. Lee nodded silently and sighed. Naruto slung his arm over his shoulder and did the same to Shikamaru.

"Secrets are out in the open. Now we have less to hide. Isn't that a bit of a relief?" he asked. Lee looked torn and shrugged. "I guess. We still have some stuff under control, not that Temari was helping any..."

Shikamaru shrugged and looked up at the stars. "She's the only one who thinks we should tell them about the band. She's bound to try to clue them in subtly, just to avoid keeping her secrecy promise..."

Naruto nodded. "Too many questions would be asked. Like tonight, only worse. Maybe some day... but we should keep it down until it seems right." Lee smiled at the rare bit of seriousness from his friend and sighed again. He started humming one of his favorite songs as Naruto's apartment complex came into view.

_"You were my compass leading me to nowhere fast... Promises were lonely roads... I followed you down like a map..."_

xxxxxxx

A/N: I didn't realize until my last chapter about the TenxKaka thing. I mean I didn't really think about how it would effect the reader. Yea... I hope no one is gonna be upset over it or something... Haha, I tried thinking of the smallest possible age gap... -looks sheepish- Oh well, that's how it goes. Too bad...

For a bit I couldn't write cause I was feeling emo, which is bad, cause I don't want this to be angsty. Not anymore angsty then necessary.

Black Bane is the name I gave my own electric guitar. Haha, Bane's my baby. lol.

About Temari's hair, I was actually thinking of my own hair, but it was hard to explain... hope it wasn't confusing or anything...

Woot, longest chapter. So much happened. Blargh, now I'm tired...

Please review!

P.S: Anyone know about the songs that I mention? Lol.


	6. Six

My Countdown Starts Now

The sunlight filtered in through the shutters and softly beckoned to the brunette to wake. Lee started to blink awake surprised to see the dirty floor of Naruto's apartment staring back up at him. Currently he was on Naruto's ratty old couch, upside-down and with his head barely an inch from hitting the floor. The boy quickly straightened himself and sat with his legs tucked underneath him.

Looking over he saw Shikamaru asleep on Naruto's equally ratty armchair. The green lover briefly wondered how the other could manage to sleep anywhere, no matter how uncomfortable. From the bedroom he heard the soft snores from his blonde friend.

"Looks like I'm making breakfast," Lee said softly as he got up and stumbled into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and took out five eggs and a packet of bacon with one hand. By now he was an expert around Naruto's kitchen, considering all the times he'd stayed over and ended up being the only one willing to cook.

"Do I smell something besides ramen wafting out of Naruto's kitchen?" Shikamaru asked sleepily peeking his head into the room. Lee smiled, wide awake, and threw the egg shells into the garbage. "Go wake Naru-chan up, the food is almost done," Lee told the lazier brunette.

Shika hummed in reply and trudged over through Naruto's open bedroom door and looked down at the sleeping form of his boyfriend. In his mind he knew that in the reverse situation of this Naruto would have woke him up by jumping on the bed. But Shikamaru was much more evil than that.

He climbed onto the bed and straddled the sleeper. He smirked devilishly as he reached out, thanking whoever was above that Naruto slept like a log. "Wake….UP!" Shika said as he started to run his finger down Naruto's sensitive sides. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAA!" Naruto shrieked waking almost instantly. "HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"No more tickling, time to eat," Shikamaru said as he got off Naruto's bed.

Naruto sat up in bed and scratched the back of his head. "Ramen?"

"No, Lee cooked."

"Oh, so real food. Real food isn't as fun." Shikamaru looked over at him and put his hand on his head.

"Without me and Lee, you'd be lucky to be alive," he said seriously. Naruto laughed happily and swatted his hand away.

"And I thank whatever higher being there is every day that I have you guys," Naruto said with a sincere grin. Shikamaru's eyes softened and he gave the blond a special smile before going back to the kitchen.

"Tonight, tonight," Naruto announced in a sing-song voice as he skipped cheerfully into the kitchen.

"At The BK Lounge," Naruto announced with a grin. Lee sweat dropped and put a plate of food on the table in front of Naruto.

"You watch too much Dane Cook," Shikamaru said before taking a sip of his orange juice.

"Blasphemy! There can never be too much Dane Cook!"

"Phht!! What the- how old _is_ this juice, Naruto?" Shikamaru said and he spat it out into the sink. Naruto stared at the carton and thought hard.

"I actually don't even remember buying that…" Lee thoughtfully picked the carton up and examined it.

"It says best sold by June 18…"

Shikamaru glared over at the blond.

"Since the beginning of summer? No wonder it tastes of fermented fruit," Shikamaru grumbled. Naruto blinked and leaned over to gently grip the brunette's shoulders.

"I have no idea what you just said," he said in all honesty.

He sighed and pulled Naruto forward into a hug. "I didn't think you would."

"Hey!!"

Lee chuckled at his friends and piled the pans into the sink after washing out the gross orange juice spittle. "Hmm, Spittle Shoot…" Lee said aloud thoughtfully.

"What?" the other two asked from between bites of scrambled eggs.

"Nothing…"

"Wait, isn't spittle when you put a bunch of skittles in your mouth, get it all spitty and take them out so the colors all blend together to look really gross?" Naruto asked thoughtfully. "Haha. I used to do that in second grade to freak out all the girls," Naruto snickered.

"No, spittle is the same as saliva or spit," Shikamaru corrected.

"Oh… You know Shika, with you around I'd never need a dictionary."

"Right…"

"Anyway, when are we going over to Kankuro's?" Lee asked, quickly snapping out of his thoughts.

"Four should be good. It gives us enough time to relax before the show even starts," Shikamaru supplied.

"Do you hear that?" Lee suddenly asked.

"Mmm, The Press Corpse… It's your ringtone, Shika," Naruto hummed.

The laziest of the three sighed and got up, moving over to the TV where he'd placed his cell the night before. "It's my mom," he announced before answering it,

"Moshi, moshi. Gah!" Shika jerked he little device away from his ear. Lee and Naruto exchanged a look and continued to watch Shikamaru.

"It's only been two days. –pause- Yeah, but it's not like dad didn't say I could. –pause- Well, that's on him, not me… -pause- I'm not, it's just- No, I would not like to be shipped off to Yumei-nee-san's. –pause- Grounded?! When have I ever been grounded? –pause- Fine, but I have a gig today. –pause- At the very least 10 o'clock. –pause- At most? er… probably midnight. –pause- Fine, fine, don't blow a gasket. –click-" Shikamaru snapped his cell shut and put it down glaring.

"My mom says I've been hanging out with you guys too much and have to spend time at home more. So I'm grounded starting after our gig," he said still glaring at his mobile phone. Naruto walked over and put his hand on his shoulder.

"No, prob, Shika. Does that mean no arcade?" Shika grinned and looked up at the blond. "I have to go straight home from school. She'll probably time me…" Naruto and Lee laughed.

* * *

"For once in your life you're early and it doesn't even matter," Kankuro grumbled from the couch as his three bandmates walked in. "Meh, arcade is closed on Sundays," Naruto said carelessly as he fell onto the sofa. Kankuro glared over at him with his arms hugging a maroon pillow under his chin.

"What're you watching?" Lee asked as he leaned in from behind the couch. "A documentary on mummies," Kankuro answered blankly as a virtual model of a tomb flicked onto the screen.

"Ew, documentaries are boring!" Naruto said with his nose scrunched up.

"No, _you're_ just allergic to knowledge. You get a rash every time you have to think," Kankuro said smartly. Naruto growled and bonked the older teen over the head.

"Shut up, asshole. That was just a rumor!" Kankuro snickered and rubbed his head gingerly. Lee and Shikamaru silently exchanged a look and stayed quiet.

"Hi, Gaara-kun," Lee said cheerfully as the younger came downstairs. "Are you going to be at our show tonight?" Lee asked with a genuine smile. Gaara stared at the boy and blinked.

"Okay," Gaara said, grabbing Lee's hand as he said it. Lee looked at his hand curiously and decided to shake it. Kankuro craned his head to see Gaara tighten his hold on the raven one. Lee looked at his in confusion and Kankuro rolled his eyes.

"Let him go, Gaara." Gaara let go and walked silently into the kitchen.

"What was that all about?" Shikamaru asked with his eyebrows raised.

Kankuro shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, but I think Gaara might have a crush on Lee." Naruto gaped and shook the brunette next to him.

"What?!" Kankuro shot an annoyed glance at the blonde and tried to concentrate on his program. "He acts strange around youth-boy there. So what else could it be…"

Shikamaru snorted with his arms crossed. "Maybe Gaara just looks up to him as an older brother. You know, cause of how crappy his real one is."

Kankuro brushed off the slight with the roll of his eyes.

"Please, real older brothers never encourage or are nice to their younger brothers. You guys wouldn't understand, you're all only kids," Kankuro said dismissively.

"Hmm, what would Temari say if she knew?" Naruto asked thoughtfully.

"Knew what?" Temari asked with a soda bottle in her hand. "Gah, when did you get here?" Naruto asked startled and clutching his heart.

"I've been here, I live here," Temari said plainly and slung her arm around Lee's shoulders.

"Oh, nothing," Naruto said and turned to watch mummy brains being pulled out through the nose. Temari narrowed her eyes. "Yea, right. Hey, lazyass what were they talking about?" Temari demanded.

"They think Gaara likes Lee," he said in his usual bored tone.

"Shika!" Naruto protested. Said boy just shrugged.

"So?" Gaara said popping up out of nowhere with a grape soda in hand. Lee looked between the two Sabaku on either side of him, slightly confused.

"So you do, Gaara?" Temari asked in a neutral tone. Gaara just stared blankly and sipped his soda.

"Uh, I'm going to go get a soda, too," Lee announced and quickly went to the kitchen. The small kitchen that he entered had a blue and gray theme going on.

"Oi, Lee, let's make some popcorn," Temari announced as she walked in, grabbing the box of popcorn on top of the refrigerator.

"Okay," Lee chimed as he hoisted himself up onto the kitchen counter. Temari looked over and glared at the over-stacked dishes in the sink.

"Hey! Who's cleaning the dishes?" Temari yelled with her head outside the kitchen door. Her yell was met with silence.

"Damnit. Kankuro, you're doing the dishes." "

What?! Why cant Gaara or you do the dishes?"

"Because I'm the one who cooks and Gaara wouldn't do it even if I told him to."

"It's true," Gaara's calm voice added in.

"What the hell?" Lee grinned from where he sat and suppressed a chuckle.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you, Mr. Lead Singer-sama," Temari asked with a smile. "It's just… I kind of wish I had siblings."

"Trust me, you don't," Temari said with a twitch. Lee chuckled and stopped the microwave so that the popcorn wouldn't burn.

"Kankuro, get your ass in here or I'll take your drumsticks and shove them where the sun don't shine," Temari yelled over her shoulder, simultaneously taking the popcorn out of the microwave. Kankuro finally trudged into the kitchen, grumbling under his breath about the unfairness of it all.

"Yea, yea, so you're gonna whine and stuff. As your older sister I don't have be nice," Temari said mockingly and shoved the popcorn at Lee. Taking the hint, Lee left and reentered the living room, handing the popcorn over to Gaara who had taken Kankuro's spot next to Naruto.

The TV channel was switched to a sitcom about college and frats/sororities. Shikamaru looked less than interested on the armchair near the window, and the two couch potatoes were both staring, absently shoving popcorn into their mouths every so often. They sat there silently for about ten minutes before Kankuro came back with his face set in a sour expression.

"Come on, let's go to my room," the oldest boy said and started to march over to the stairs. Naruto laughed and playfully shoved past the other as Shikamaru and Lee walked over to follow. Kankuro rolled his eyes and started to climb the stairs. Once they got to the second floor they saw Naruto with a strange look on his face looking through the last door on the left.

His eye twitched as they came closer. "Gosh, Kankuro, why do you still have that freaky puppet hanging over your bed?" Naruto asked as he eyed the wooden puppet suspiciously. "Cause I like it, you wimp," Kankuro said as he shoved said wimp into the room. "Plus, it holds good memories, it used to scare Gaara when he was little." The blond promptly fell facedown into the beige carpet, muttering curses as Shikamaru helped him up.

"Bitch," Naruto growled. Kankuro smirked and swiveled around in his roller chair in front of his computer. "Bite me."

"Gladly!"

"Guys," Lee interrupted as he tiredly sat down on the maroon covered bed. "We have a show in a few hours. Now's not the time for a fight."

Shikamaru grunted an agreement and fell backwards onto the bed next to the brunette. "Yea, yea. It'd be easy if we'd just put a muzzle on him like I suggested before," Kankuro said under his breath. Naruto glared over at him and sat with his back facing away from the bed and the puppet's menacing countenance.

"You guys are so immature," Shikamaru sighed as he lethargically stared out the sky window. Lee sweat dropped and looked at his three quiet friends, suddenly wishing to be downstairs again.

"Hey, I'm going to work now. See you guys later," Temari yelled up the stairs. Lee glanced at the Pokemon clock on the bedside table announcing that it was five o'clock. One hour until they had to be there. Two and a half until they had to play.

Suddenly a snort-giggle sneaked past the hand covering Kankuro's mouth. In front of him the computer screen was white with small black words. "Fanfiction," Lee muttered and smiled at the continued sound of stifled laughter.

* * *

Outside the sun was glowing orange, playing the perfect atmosphere with the cool autumn breeze. Arcadia Street was lined with small unique shops which made it the most liked street in the whole city, and the most popular place there was the club in the center. Club Shampoo was decorated with a huge pink shampoo bottle on the roof surrounded by plastic rainforest foliage. The door was painted with intricate, exotic flowers surrounding a jaguar. The four be-hoodied boys stopped on the sidewalk in front, staring fondly at the familiar place.

Kankuro smirked and took a penny out of his pocket, carefully putting it tails-up on the sidewalk. "Oi, trying to give someone bad luck, again?" Shikamaru asked accusingly.

"It's the most useful use for a penny. Unless you want to tick a cashier off and bring a whole bunch to pay with," Kankuro said.

"You just want to spread your grumpiness to others, you bitter-teme," Naruto said teasingly, impatiently shoving his boyfriend and the oldest boy toward the club entrance.

"Not true. If I really wanted to make people as unhappy as me I would superglue a quarter to the ground. I just like the thought of cause people some discomfort sometimes," Kankuro commented with a happy smirk.

"Don't worry, we do that enough to the parents of our fans," Naruto snickered as he sent a grin to the buff bouncer who nodded at them as they past through. Lee grinned and hesitated toward the door. Quickly he went back and flipped the penny over, smiling slightly at heads-up penny before running after his friends.

Inside the atmosphere transformed into a smoky urban jungle, where the bar section was lighted just enough. Several columns had vines wrapped around them with brightly colored blooms, the columns sectioned off a few tables to give it a sense of privacy. A small section off the side of the bar was set for nicer tables where simple meals could be served.

Opposite the bar were the dance floor and the stage. The stage was elevated two feet above the dance floor and was being set up with instruments for the band at the moment. The dance floor was spacious and was laid in a black and white checker pattern, perfect for dancing or a large crowd of rock-lovers.

"Right on time," Temari announced as she walked over to them in her black skirt-white blouse uniform. She was holding a clipboard and eying the boys where they stood. "Where's Gaara?" she asked glaring at Kankuro poisonously. "He said he'd come later," Shikamaru came to the sweating Kankuro's rescue.

"Okay. Hoodies off, I have to make sure you're in playing shape," she ordered playfully. They each took off their black hoodies and threw they over at her. She growled under her breath, but stopped as she observed the four. Shika was simply wearing a plain grey shirt and blue camo pants with a blue bandana tied on his right upper arm.

The blonde next to him opted for fit faded jeans with a bright orange belt and a dark purple Kill Hannah t-shirt. Her brother was wearing his usual wifebeater and leather cuffs, this time both black, his trademark shark-tooth necklace and just to shake it up a bit, he decided to wear a pair of tight-fitting brown pants, as opposed to wearing them baggy.

Temari nodded approvingly at the three and waved them off, then turned to Lee. The raven haired boy watched as his friends walked over to the stage without him and he turned to his ex. He looked at her blankly as she chose to circle him like a hawk. He was wearing a red and green striped shirt with long sleeved that trailed over his hands, his pants were tight, red plaid with a lime green belt. A clearly hand-stitched badge on the left corner of his shirt announced 'Merry Christmas, Bitches,' and Temari smiled at Lee's strange fashion sense. "Hmm, its so you, Lee. But I'd add one more thing," Temari said as she grabbed his hand, letting the hoodies fall to the floor.

"Oh, what?" Lee asked innocently and let her drag him away unknowingly to the girl's bathroom. "Temari! What did we say about bringing your boyfriend in here to make out?" a girl's voice said loudly, amusement plain in her voice. "Yea, yea, we broke up, so no worries. Now I have work to do," Temari said dismissively, steering a smirking long haired brunette out of the restroom.

"Ne, Temari-chan, I don't think I should be-"

"Shut up, Lee, and let me work my magic."

"-sigh- Yes, Temari-chan…"

* * *

"Wow, what a crowd," the brunette girl from before commented as she stood next to Temari, looking out at the dance floor at the many teenagers staring expectantly at the dimly lit stage.

"Hmm, they just keep getting bigger and bigger, eh?" Temari said with an amused smile. "Pretty soon they'll be getting a label, I bet," the girl said cheerfully.

"I wouldn't doubt it," the blonde replied back.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!! Oh my gosh, look at Lee-kun!!!" The squeal was swallowed by the crowds' cheering as all the members of the band came on stage. Temari grinned and the brunette looked at the lead singer as he confidently stepped in front of everyone.

"Wow, so that's what you were doing. Nice," the girl commented with a distracted tone. There stood the raven haired boy before the crowd, sporting a faux-hawk that added just enough to the boy's look. The other members on stage grinned to themselves and started to fire up their instruments, the cheering giving them a boost of excited energy.

The intro to their first song came fast and sweet, quickly smoothing into the vocals with Lee grabbing the mike aggressively.

Call me a doctor of defense  
Maybe I'm a fix (Baby I'm a mess)  
A diagnosis you'll forget  
Call me baby call me crazy, yeah yeah yeah  
Take these pills everyday to kill your apathy for living  
Yeah for living, yeah yeah

Lee let the mike rock hazardously as he grabbed for the guitar around his neck and started adding his own to the musical mix. On either side of him Naruto and Shikamaru leaned into their mikes more to help in the refrain.

(This is) This is the sound of your body under fire  
(These are) These are my eyes finding you in the dark  
We are the voices of an underground choir  
Save your breath you won't be heard

Lee looked out into the crowd, eying them with a hard, dark stare that forced the words he sang to take a sort of physical form in the listener's soul. In his trance he felt the music rushing through him and the power from the adrenaline strengthened the emotions that had first formed these lyrics.

I found the villain in your bed  
A blanket full of lust (a pillow you can trust)  
So is this what you call love?  
Call me crazy, listen baby, yeah yeah yeah  
Stop sniffing all your cocaine  
I'll be your drug for the pain  
For all the pain, yeah yeah

A fire lit Lee's eyes and he was everywhere at once, with passion pushing past his lips and all thoughts out of his mind.

(This is) This is the sound of your body under fire  
(These are) These are my eyes finding you in the dark  
We are the voices of an underground choir  
Save your breath you won't be heard

And when you're falling for the stories I said and believe in  
Nothing but the truth we wrote on the ceiling  
Break out all your bullets it won't be enough for  
Stopping all your jail mates from turning into  
People on the sun reaching for a loaded gun for you  
They will scream your name before I do

(This is) This is the sound of your body under fire  
(These are) These are my eyes finding you in the dark  
We are the voices of an underground choir  
We are the voices of an underground choir  
We are the voices of an underground choir

(This is) This is the sound of your body under fire  
(These are) These are my eyes finding you in the dark  
We are the voices of an underground choir

(This is) This is the sound of your body under fire  
(These are) These are my eyes finding you in the dark  
We are the voices of an underground choir  
Save your breath you won't be heard

The music made him hungry and as the song ended he looked at his friends and nodded, asking, begging, for the next course of the music feast. They were just as hungry and as eager as him.

So here's a question,  
I'll hypnotize you,  
But will you follow me,  
Follow all these footsteps I left behind,  
My hands are shaking,  
Don't criticize me,  
I'm not being in demand,  
I could pay for your tears,

It's in my job description,  
To tell you how to feel,  
This is my ammunition,  
I'll fly away with you,

Make make me make you want to sing along,  
WOAH OH OH, WOAH OH OH,  
Break break me until you realize your favorite song,  
WOAH OH OH, WOAH OH OH,  
This is your anthem for tonight,

Your contemplating,  
What you want from me,  
But it's not up to you,  
Listen to me what I have to say,  
Up against the wall,  
With my guard down,  
But can you conquer me,  
I'm fighting you're not sure and we're not fine,

It's in my job description,  
To tell you how to feel,  
This is my ammunition,  
I'll fly away with you,

Lee smiled playfully at the crowd and danced slightly as he sang.

Make make me make you want to sing along,  
WOAH OH OH, WOAH OH OH,  
Break break me until you realize your favorite song,  
WOAH OH OH, WOAH OH OH,  
This is your anthem for tonight,

So here comes a breakdown,  
Oh you wish you could,  
So here comes a breakdown,  
Let's sing it and get down,  
So here comes a breakdown,  
Let's sing it and get down,

Lee slid to the floor, smiling in bliss as Naruto gave his solo.

Just tell me one more time,  
What do you want honey,

Make make me make you want to sing along,  
WOAH OH OH, WOAH OH OH,  
Break break me until you realize your favorite song,  
WOAH OH OH, WOAH OH OH,  
This is your anthem for tonight

The night continued much the same with the band being playful with their fans and at times even intense, not once making a mistake.

"Okay, folks, here's a last song," Lee announced, who was immediately received with groans.

"Sorry, guys, Shika-kun needs to be home by eleven thirty." Lee winked and threw an apologetic glance at the bassist.

"Who else has an annoying, mom?" Shikamaru asked into the mike. A bunch of kids laughed and over half the crowd raised their hand.

"I rest my case," Shikamaru said with a smirk and started strumming his bass.

"I Hate Your Eyes!" Lee exclaimed and everyone got quiet as the delicate guitar strums started.

As if your the one to talk  
Trying to take what you don't have  
Whatever made you so jealous  
I'm tired of being quiet  
I'm sick of writing the songs that make you think that you're so special  
You never really were that special

I'm ready to start this riot  
I'm ready to start a new democracy  
Or Something like it  
One for all and all against you

Hey Hey, Wooh oh oh  
This makes for the perfect song  
So do it one more time so I can sing this  
Hey Hey, Wooh oh oh  
This makes for the perfect song

Maybe later we can start one  
Start a new relationship  
You'll call it friendship, I'll call it a  
Second chance for you  
Get on your knees and beg to me not to  
Call you names, behind your back or  
To your face, you're nothing but my crush that went away

Hey Hey, Wooh oh oh  
This makes for the perfect song  
So do it one more time so I can sing this  
Hey Hey, Wooh oh oh  
This makes for the perfect song

It's up to you for this  
Should we just call it off  
I've tried so many times before  
It's up to you for this  
Should we just call it off  
It's up to you for this  
'Cause I'm gonna set it off

Come on angel...let's talk this over  
Come on angel  
Come on angel...let's talk this over  
Come on angel

Hey Hey, Wooh oh oh  
This makes for the perfect song  
So do it one more time so I can sing this  
Hey Hey, Wooh oh oh  
This makes for the perfect song

Lee grinned under sweat-heavy bangs and shined in the loud reaction to their song. Naruto boldly put his guitar on the stand behind him and took an exaggerated bow, the crowd roared, and Lee waved at them enthusiastically. Kankuro jumped up and pumped his drumsticks into the air, and Shikamaru grinned lazily.

"Night, peeps, see you next time," Naruto yelled over the insistent cheers as he walked off stage. The other three followed after him, but not before Kankuro threw his drumsticks to the crowd. "Oi, you shouldn't of done that, someone could of gotten hit by those," Lee chided Kankuro. "Nah, the kids love that kind of stuff," Kankuro said as he waved off Lee's concern.

"Hey, Lee, how you been?" asked a girl who was waiting for the band as they got off the stage.

"Eh, Kin, what are you doing here?" Lee asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Just to watch the band like everyone else. You guys keep getting more awesome as you go along," the tall girl chirped happily.

"Okay, cut the crap, what do you really want?" Kankuro groused as he stepped in front of the girl's ex. The girl frowned.

"An asshole as usual, Kankuro. I'm just here to give you good confirmation from a fan. Geez…" the girl flicked her hair over her shoulder and rested her hand on her hip.

"How's NAMA, Kin?" Lee asked friendlily, shoving Kankuro's arm out of the way.

"The same as always. Except we all think Orochimaru-sensei has gone crazy, but you know. We always thought he was a bit strange…"

"Ha, and no one listened to me when I said that that snake was a serial pedo on the verge of a rampage. I'm just glad we got out before it happened," Naruto said as he shivered in disgust.

Kin raised her eyebrow. "Not quite that extreme, but we do think he's in a serious need of a lay. And shut up, Kankuro-baka," Kin said quickly before the older boy could open his mouth. Kankuro grunted and drifted off towards where Shika was relaxing away from the conversation.

"Anyway, I should go now. Great show, it was nice to see you in all your glory, Lee-kun," Kin cooed close to Lee's ear and quickly turned with a swish of her long jet black hair. Kankuro snorted as she left.

"What did you ever see in that hoe?" Kankuro grumbled. Lee ignored the insult towards his ex, and sat down tiredly against the wall.

"I'm bushed," Naruto said slumping against Shika. Lee yawned stretched a bit.

"It was long night," Kankuro commented and they all sat silent, listening to the incoherent conversations of the teens out in the club.

"I hope we can get used to this one day. Image doing this everyday for months at a time," Shika said.

Naruto grinned. "Even if it's tiring, it's worth it."

Lee smiled and lightly hit his head against the wall. "Yea…"

* * *

A/N: Random little things added in there, just for fun. Mah! It was harder to write than I thought. XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, any of Halifax's songs, Pokemon, or… anything else really.


End file.
